Revolution v. Timbers: Four Thoughts

The New England Revolution battled the Portland Timbers to a 2-2 draw on Saturday night. Here are four thoughts from the game.

1. Earl Edwards Jr. performed well. Before Saturday’s game, Edwards Jr. was 1-3-1 in MLS play with his last appearance being a 3-3 draw on Aug. 4, 2018. Edwards Jr. played some lower division games since then, waiting to have another chance in MLS. That moment came on Saturday and he made the most of it. Edwards Jr. made a critical save in the opening minutes of the game and had another soon after. Sure, he allowed two goals, but I tend to agree with head coach Bruce Arena when he said, “He can’t be at fault for any of the goals.”

2. Let’s reserve judgement on the Revs newcomers. Listen, you know I love a good hot take, but I’m going to reserve judgement on Sebastian Lletget, Omar Gonzalez, and Jozy Altidore since we saw positives and negatives in Saturday’s game. Lletget was fairly quiet until he scored a goal. Gonzalez was shaky in the opening minutes, but settled down and ended the night with some decent numbers. Altidore only got 11 minutes in his Revs debut. Lletget is a prime example of why it’s okay to take some time to form an opinion. He wasn’t great on the Timber’s first goal, but he was great moments later when he scored one of his own.

3. The back line wasn’t in-sync. There were many instances on Saturday night when Revs defenders failed to track runs. There were also times when the back line didn’t properly hold the offside line. It’s too early to panic about the Revs defense, especially since Matt Turner and Henry Kessler are out with minor injuries. It is something to keep an eye on though.

4. DeJuan Jones is a star. Jones continued where he left off in 2021 as he put in a stellar shift at left back. Santiago Moreno and Josecarlos Van Rankin struggled to defend the speedy Jones. The assist to Sebastian Lletget is just one of the many highlights that Jones provided throughout the night. Another favorite moment was when Jones used a cutback to deceive his defender. Jones has become so good with his left foot that players forget that he’s naturally right-footed.