Revolution 2 - Orlando City 1: 3 thoughts

After resting some starters in the mid-week match against the Chicago Fire, the New England Revolution showed off all the weapons in their arsenal on Saturday night in the 0-0 over Orlando City.

The Revs looked to have a much better showing after they stole three points from the Fire after Carles Gil put the team on his back and scored a stoppage-time goal to extinguish Chicago’s chances of walking out of the match with any points.

New England’s opponent on Saturday would be a bit tougher. Orlando entered the match fourth in the Eastern Conference. With playmakers such as Daryl Dike and Nani, the Revs need to have a much better performance out on the pitch.

But Orlando wasn’t having a great go of it as they had lost their last three games.

The Revolution starting XI looked exactly as expected after resting players. This is the starting XI that you will likely see when the playoffs arrive.

So what do you need to know about Saturday’s victory? Here are three thoughts.

1 - Beautifulness from Bou

After being sidelined with an injury for a few games, Gustavo Bou recently made his return to the lineup but it wasn’t until Saturday night that he clearly announced his arrival.

Bou had a huge impact on the first goal of the game for the Revolution. He dummied an Orlando defender into the turf and was shot out of a cannon on the left flank. La Pantera would then send a beautiful cross into the box and Adam Buksa would tap it in to give the Revolution a 1-0 lead.

Throughout the match, Bou would move the ball well and show how he has improved overall as a player while in New England. The striker isn’t just scoring goals, he is also moving the ball quite well.

All in all, it was a great night for Bou who will look to build some momentum as the postseason nears.

2 - Is it time to worry about Matt Turner?

Let me start off by saying that Matt Turner is the best goalkeeper in MLS and should be starting for the USMNT moving forward... but his recent performances have been eyebrow raising.

Ever since Turner has returned from World Cup Qualifiers he has looked shaky at times. There have been multiple times where he has been caught out of his own goal and nearly allowed an easy goal to opponents. Turner has also been able to get his hands on some shots but he has been unable to keep them out of the net.

This happened once again on Saturday as Daryl Dike blasted a shot on net that was hit so hard Turner couldn’t stop it even after getting in front of the shot.

Credit to Dike who had one hell of a shot, but Turner needs to be stopping those balls. While they might be difficult shots to block, a goalkeeper of his caliber should be making the save.

This is especially the case with the playoffs getting closer and closer. One goal can be all that it takes to send a team home earlier than expected.

3 - BBBBBBBBuksa

After getting the night off on Wednesday, Adam Buksa had fresh legs and was ready to find the back of the net.

That was exactly what he would do in the ninth minute as he slotted home a ball courtesy of Bou. This now has him tied with La Pantera with 12 goals on the season. New England’s duo is now tied for fifth in the Golden Boot race.

This season Buksa has just been burying the chances that he should have last season. He looks more at home on the pitch. Also, the Polish striker has shown some stellar hold-up play and has used his size to his advantage.

Especially on Saturday night, Buksa did a great job of tracking back and helping out on defense as New England looked to secure the victory in the final minutes.

The Revs will look to continue their winning ways when they play CF Montreal on Wednesday.