Friday, March 29

Revolution lose to Pumas on penalty kicks in CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal – The Boston Globe


Dinenno opened the scoring off an Islas cross, sent on by Rogerio De Oliveira, in the 33rd minute, finishing off his thigh. Dinenno upped the lead off another feed from Rogerio, the sequence starting with right back Alan Mozo in the 49th minute. Saucedo converted the tying goal at the back post, finishing a Mozo cross that was flicked on by Revolution defender Brandon Bye in the 59th minute.

With the game opening up late in the second half, Pumas coach Andres Lillini sent in Brazilian forward Diogo De Oliveira and Colombian winger Washington Corozo. Revolution sporting director/head coach Bruce Arena countered with Jozy Altidore in place of Gustavo Bou, who appeared to be injured. Altidore was cautioned by Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton before touching the ball, following what appeared to be a minor clash with Mozo in the 72nd minute.

The Revolution, who visit Charlotte in a league match Saturday, began using the space, DeJuan Jones advancing into the attack. In the opening leg, Jones’ runs on the left helped prevent Pumas from threatening on the wings; this time, the Revolution conceded the wings until the late going.

Gonzalez came close to deciding the series in the first minute of stoppage time off a Sebastian Lletget cross, then Dinenno’s shot was saved by Earl Edwards Jr. In penalty kicks, both teams scored on their first two tries, then Talavera and Edwards (on Efrain Velarde) saved. After Lletget missed, Nicolas Freire gave Pumas a 3-2 edge in penalties. Altidore converted, then Dinenno clinched a 4-3 Pumas advantage.

Also Read  Rise in COVID cases abroad, presence of omicron subvariant may foreshadow increase in US: Experts

“As well as Pumas played and we didn’t play well, we had a chance right at the end of the game to score and didn’t and, obviously, lost in penalties,” Arena said. “We’re not surprised the way the game looked. We knew it was going to look like that and the altitude [7,500 feet] was going to be a factor. And give them credit. We made too many mistakes.”

Observations from Wednesday’s match:

In the home leg, the Revolution’s high-octane offense kept Pumas off balance. But the Revolution did not step on the gas until late in the game in the second leg. By playing cautiously, the Revolution conceded momentum to Pumas, but they were also able to conserve energy before making a late sprint that failed to pay off.

“At the end of the day, that’s the decision we made, and we went through it,” Bye said of the Revolution defensive strategy. “I think we have to be together on that. Whatever the decision was, whether it was go find a goal, defend, whatever it is, we made that decision as a team, as a coaching staff, as a unit, and that’s something that we have to live with.”

In the first game, Pumas used a five-defender setup, which Lillini described as a mistake. This time, Pumas went with a 4-4-2 alignment and, by aggressively attacking, kept the Revolution pinned back for most of the contest.

Arena noted several defensive mistakes leading to the equalizer. Mozo started the sequence with a cutback and left-foot cross from the right wing; Bye read the cross, but failed to realize there were two Pumas players waiting at the back post. Instead of making a strong headed clearance, Bye flicked on directly to Saucedo, who had time to line up a shot and blasted it just under the bar, leaving Edwards little chance.

Also Read  Cardi B, Offset reveal son's name, share first photo on Instagram

“We certainly could’ve been a little bit better,” Arena said. “The third goal is an example — we just made too many mistakes on that particular play.”

Revolution captain Carles Gil had a shot saved (55th minute) but his influence was limited until the final 10 minutes. Gil’s advances on the right nearly paid off for the Revolution as he earned two corner kicks in the final minutes. The Revolution hoped to capitalize on the aerial abilities of Gonzalez and Adam Buksa, but Gonzalez was thwarted by Talavera and Buksa sent his best opportunity high (65th) off a turnover.

In penalty kicks, Arena said he chose the first three takers — Gil, Jones, and McNamara — then asked which players wanted to go next. The Revolution lost on penalty kicks to New York City FC in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year with Matt Turner in goal. Edwards took over the starting goalkeeper position because of injuries; Turner (broken foot) remains out and Brad Knighton (concussion) has recovered.

“Our first three guys were the guys that we knew would be confident taking them, so they went,” Arena said. “I do ask which players feel comfortable taking a penalty and Sebastian and Jozy said they’d take one.”

Jon Bell paired with Gonzalez in central defense as Andrew Farrell (undisclosed injury) and Henry Kessler (hamstring) missed the contest. “They were under a lot of pressure during the game,” Arena said of the back line. “We made some mistakes that caused goals but that’s the way it goes, there’s not excuses.”

Also Read  Councilmember Gym calls for investigation of PPA’s demands that School District of Philadelphia repay $11 million - The Philadelphia Sunday Sun

UNAM PUMAS-REVOLUTION: 3-3 (4-3 penalty kicks)

REVOLUTION: Earl Edwards Jr.; Brandon Bye, Omar Gonzalez, Jon Bell, DeJuan Jones; Carles Gil, Sebastian Lletget, Arnor Traustason (Tommy McNamara 46th); Gustavo Bou (Jozy Altidore 71st), Adam Buksa.

UNAM: Alfredo Talavera; Alan Mozo, Nicolas Freire, Arturo Ortiz, Efrain Velarde; Omar Islas (Diogo De Oliveira 62d), Higor Meritao, Leonel Lopez, Sebastian Saucedo (Jorge Ruvalcaba 69th); Juan Dinenno, Rogerio De Oliveira (Washington Corozo 74th).

Referee: Ivan Barton. Goals: Dinenno 33d, 49th, Saucedo 60th. Penalty kicks: Gil, Jones, McNamara (saved), Lletget (missed), Altidore; Ortiz, Mozo, Velarde (saved), Freire, Dinenno.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *