For years, the Revolution front office and fan base have been waiting for a roster full of designated players to take over the team and bring them into the playoffs with confidence, and it finally happened for them on Friday night against the Montreal Impact. Strong performances from Carles Gil and Gustavo Bou paved the way, with smaller contributions from Adam Buksa. There were notable performances from other Revolution players, but at the end of the day, the designated players were the ones to make it happen.
Let's look at the starting 11...
Headshots from revolutionsoccer.net.
Alexander Buttner
DeJuan Jones
Diego Fagundez
Henry Kessler
Andrew Farrell
Tajon Buchanan
Carles Gil
Tommy McNamara
Matt Polster
Teal Bunbury
Gustavo Bou
Adam Buksa
Matt Turner
TAKEAWAYS
Note: The game was nationally televised, so I don't have access to the game film.
Handling Montreal's pressure
Matt Turner
Tommy McNamara
Passing map from mlssoccer.com.
Passing map from mlssoccer.com.
Playing to strengths
Bruce Arena
Tajon Buchanan
Carles Gil
Player position map from whoscored.com.
Gustavo Bou
DeJuan Jones
Defending set pieces
Henry Kessler
THREE UP
Carles Gil
Gustavo Bou
Gustavo Bou
DeJuan Jones
THREE DOWN
Teal Bunbury
Henry Kessler
Tommy McNamara
PLAYER RATINGS
PARTING THOUGHT
Bruce Arena