Shorthanded attack dooms Revolution, as Cincinnati wins at Gillette to end nine-match unbeaten run

Boston Globe

15-06-2025

Despite being credited with 74 percent of the possession in the second half, New England (6-5-5, 23 points) managed just five shots after the break, none of which much threatened Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano. Its two best chances after halftime were a turnaround shot from substitute Maxi Urruti, which screamed past the top corner in the 71st minute, and a stoppage-time free kick from Carles Gil into the top netting.
Related
:
Advertisement
Wing backs Peyton Miller and Ilay Feingold frequently carried into the Cincinnati end, and Gil had plenty of possession in the center of the field, but neither could find teammates able to create dangerous chances. The Revolution were credited with just two shots on target for the match — a 12th-minute rip from Tomás Chancalay set up by Gil and Miller, and a bounding Matt Polster shot soon after halftime right at Celentano.
Advertisement
Up front, coach Caleb Porter turned to Chancalay and Luis Diaz, whose first MLS start since October 2022 included being dispossessed on a 52nd-minute breakaway without managing at attempt on Celentano.
'Probably the biggest moment that we really need to turn into a goal,' Porter said.
Cincinnati's Lukas Engel (left) ran down New England's Luis Diaz in the second half, preventing him from putting a shot on goal.
New England Revolution
He brought on Urruti as support in the 64th minute, replacing right back Brayan Ceballos, who had picked up a yellow card in the 16th. Lacking another offensive option, however, Porter chose midfielder Jackson Yueill when Chancalay came off in the 80th.
'Honestly, I don't know what more you can do. We subbed on every attacking player we had available,' Porter said. 'We kept throwing the kitchen sink at them. We kept huffing and puffing and we just couldn't blow the house down.'
The 80 minutes represented the most game action for the Argentine since returning in April from ACL surgery.
Cincinnati (10-5-3, 33 points), which had allowed 10 goals in a four-match winless stretch before Saturday, produced its winner on the counterattack. Veteran Kei Kamara wheeled around New England's Tanner Beason with a deft touch, carrying into the Revolution end.
The ball eventually got to Denkey in the penalty area. Blocked by the returning Ceballos, who'd missed a pair of matches with a head injury, Denkey passed across the field to Luca Orellano.
Orellano fed a left foot back in front of goal, where Denkey — acquired for a
Asked whether the Revolution would be shopping for attacking players when the summer transfer window begins late next month, Porter made clear the team knows what it needs.
Advertisement
'I think we have some guys that can score, but health and run of games, we still haven't had a guy that's really taken the lead there, and you need that,' he said. 'For us to be a contender, you have to have a striker that gets 10-plus goals minimum. We need to find that guy, whether it's here or somewhere else.'
New England had eight corners to Cincinnati's three on Saturday, and a 10-9 edge in shots. Aljaz Ivacic was credited with two saves, as well as stopping a pair of close-range deflections off teammates in the opening 10 minutes.
The match began a run of three straight in Foxborough for the Revolution, who sit 11th in the Eastern Conference having played a conference-low 16 matches. New England is off until June 25, when it host Eastern contender Nashville.