Revs II fall short in home opener

Clint Peay and the Revolution II returned to action at Gillette Stadium for the first time since October 3^rd as they hosted the Richmond kickers in their 2021 home opener.

Revs II came into Saturday’s match a week after picking up three points in their season opener against Fort Lauderdale. Richmond on the other hand taking the field for the first time in 2021.

Clint Peay made a total of three changes to the lineup as Earl Edwards Jr, Christian Mafla, and Luis Caicedo joined the Revs II squad from the first team to gain match fitness ahead of the start of the 2021 MLS season.

One of the biggest changes for Revs II was the addition of fans in the stands for Saturday’s home opener. A first for the club as it enters its second season. When talking after the match, forward Connor Presley talked about what it was like to have fans in attendance for the first time. “When I first saw fans, I was like ‘Man, I think this is the first time we’ve ever had fans in the stands.’ So it was pretty cool to have some people there and have some noise out there, have some atmosphere.”.

Edwards Jr and the Revs II defense were put to work early in the match as Richmond had two great chances on net within the first fifteen minutes of the match. Both chances were scooped up by Edwards Jr.

Richmond midfielder Jonathan Bolanos would score the first goal of the Kickers 2021 season in the 35th minute after his left-footed shot found its way past a trailing Francois Dulysse and Edwards Jr.

As first-half stoppage time was coming to an end, Kickers defender Juan Pablo Monticelli would extend Richmond’s lead to two after a mishap from Edwards Jr. led to the ball falling to Monticelli’s feet a few yards out from the net.

A double substitution would come for Revs II in the 68th minute as Hikaru Fujiwara and Michel would come on for Colby Quinones and Justin Rennicks.

Both Mafla and Caicedo would be booked with yellow cards in the 70th and 76th minute respectively.

A triple substitution would come for Revs II in the 77th minute as Noel Buck, Ryan Spaulding, and Michel Tsicoulias would come on for Caicedo, Mafla, and Damian Rivera.

Dulysse would be booked with a yellow card in the 88^th minute after fouling Richmond’s Stanley Alves

Similar to the end of the first half, Richmond would add on an additional goal in second-half stoppage time as Oalex Anderson flicked the ball high into the air, over the keeper, and into the net, giving Richmond a 3-0 lead and the inevitable win.

Revs II will have an extended break as their next outing will come on May 12th as they host Union Omaha at 5 PM. When talking about the break, head coach Clint Peay will look to keep the squad fit and fresh during their three-week break. “Obviously we’ll continue to train, continue to work on getting better as a group, getting better individually, and we’ve got a couple friendlies that we have lined up to hopefully challenge ourselves and learn more about the group.”