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MLS NEXT Pro New England Revolution II

Revolution II Defeat Atlanta United 2, 5-1

August 13, 2023 - MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution II (12-5-6; 46 pts.) defeated Atlanta United 2 (7-11-5; 27 pts.), 5-1, on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, extending the team's best-ever unbeaten streak to eight consecutive games. Jordan Adebayo-Smith recorded a brace while Esmir Bajraktarević, Damian Rivera, and Noble Okello each scored.

Revolution II found the scoresheet first with Bajraktarević and Tommy McNamara causing a turnover just outside of the box. Bajraktarević sent a cross to Rivera who sailed a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner for his sixth goal of the season. Atlanta equalized in the 19th minute, sending the two sides to halftime level.

The second half was all New England as Revolution II tallied four times in the second 45 minutes. Adebayo-Smith's first goal of the match came after McNamara snuck the ball through an Atlanta defender to the middle of the box where Adebayo-Smith's initial shot was blocked into the air allowing the East London native to head it past Atlanta's keeper in the 67th minute.

Bajraktarević netted his sixth of the season in the 80th minute, one-timing a deflected cross from Ítalo into the bottom right corner. Adebayo-Smith secured his first brace and team-leading 12th goal of the season, sinking another cross from Ítalo just under the Atlanta keeper. Okello capped off the scoring by tapping in a corner kick from midfielder Patrick Leal in second half stoppage time to secure New England's 12th win of 2023.

Revolution II returns to action on Friday, August 18, heading to York Lions Stadium to take on Toronto FC II. The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET and streams live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

New England Revolution II 5, Atlanta United 2 1

August 13, 2023 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

New England extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches with the team's 12th win of the 2023 season. Revolution II remains in second place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Crown Legacy FC and four points above Columbus Crew 2.

New England recorded a season-high 27 shots in the match with 10 different players recording at least one shot.

Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith recorded his first brace in the match, extending his team-lead to 12 goals on the season and placing him at fourth-most goals in the league.

Homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević and Damian Rivera each notched their sixth goals of the year with Bajraktarević earning his first assist on Rivera's tally.

Revolution midfielder Tommy McNamara played the full 90 and recorded four shots, two on target.

Midfielder Noble Okello earned his first goal with Revolution II, tapping in a corner kick from midfielder Patrick Leal who earned his second assist in his third appearance with New England's second team.

Revolution forward Tomás Chancalay played 20 minutes in his first professional match at Gillette Stadium before exiting the game with a thigh contusion.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Adam Mitchell

Assistant Referees:Alexandru Focea, Tom Felice

Fourth Official: Stephanie McFarland

Weather: 78 degrees and sunny

Scoring Summary:

NE- Damian Rivera 6 (Esmir Bajraktarević 1) 8'

ATL- Jackson Conway (Luke Brennan) 19'

NE - Jordan Adebayo-Smith 11 (Unassisted) 67'

NE - Esmir Bajraktarević 6 (Unassisted) 80'

NE - Jordan Adebayo-Smith 12 (Ítalo 1) 90+1'

NE - Noble Okello 1 (Patrick Leal 2) 90+4'

Misconduct Summary:

ATL- Christopher Gloster (Yellow Card - Foul) 40'

NE - Esmir Bajraktarević (Yellow Card - Foul) 45+2'

NE - Jake Rozhansky (Yellow Card - Dissent)

ATL - Karim Tmimi (Yellow Card - Foul) 70'

NE - Damian Rivera (Yellow Card - Foul) 88'

ATL - Jackson Conway (Yellow Card - Foul) 90'

ATL- Cooper Sanchez (Yellow Card - Foul) 90+3'

New England Revolution II: Jacob Jackson; Colby Quiñónes (Peyton Miller 46'), Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, Santiago Suárez; Esmir Bajraktarević (Patrick Leal 82'), Jake Rozhansky (Noble Okello 68'), Tommy McNamara; Damian Rivera, Tomás Chancalay (Jordan Adebayo-Smith 21'),Malcolm Fry (Ítalo 68').

Substitutes Not Used: Nico Campuzano, Jacob Akanyirige, Ben Awashie, Olger Escobar.

Atlanta United 2: Justin Garces; Christopher Gloster (Nelson Orji 52') Efraín Morales (Fuad Adeniyi 52'), Kofi Twumasi, Erik Centeno; Toni Tiente, Alan Carleton (Jonathan Villal 68'); Karim Tmimi (Matías Gallardo 85'), Nick Firmino, Luke Brennan (Cooper Sanchez 85'); Jackson Conway.

Substitutes Not Used: Jonathan Ransom, David Mejía.

Atlanta United 2 Team Statistics New England Revolution II

6 (1) Shots (on Target) 27 (12)

3 Blocked Shots 3

8 Saves 0

7 Corner Kicks 3

1 Offsides 0

15 Fouls 10

410 (85.4%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 499 (90.2%)

54.8% Possession 45.2%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution II 5, Atlanta United 2 1

Revolution II Assistant Coach Marcelo Santos

On team's performance:

Santos: "We had a strong group today, and I think they were concentrating and ready to go from the beginning. The effort was there, and it was just a matter of starting to get them the goals, and the opportunities were there. Atlanta [United 2] made it difficult in the first half. The way they were defending, it was difficult to break their block, but I thought Tico [Damian Rivera] was fantastic, and some of the other guys helped us to unlock him."

On team's recent tough schedule:

Santos: "It is very, very difficult, and we need to give credit to them because going to Orlando and playing in the 95-degree weather against a very tough team and coming back here and having to do it again. It's never easy, but it shows their character because I think it's much more of a mentality. They're ready to do it physically, but it's up to them to see how far they want to go and today they showed that they want to go far."

On Esmir Bajraktarević and Damian Rivera's impact:

Santos: "It's massive because we are a team that has a lot of guys that are technical. They [Esmir Bajraktarević and Damian Rivera] pass the ball really well, but sometimes to unlock a defense like this, you need those guys that can dribble 1-vs-1 and create a free guy. I think it shows why they're on the first team; every time they come here; they impact. But when they play with us, it's a joy."

On Tommy McNamara and his veteran presence:

Santos: "I think it's a good blueprint for everybody, because when he [Tommy McNamara] comes down, he shows the true professional he is. I think for guys like Tico [Damian Rivera] and Esmir [Bajraktarević], it's like okay: that's what you need to do, that's what you need to be if you want to have a long career like him. The work ethic on the field, talking to the guys in terms of helping them grow, it's there every day in training, in the locker room. So, very happy to have Tommy with us."

On Jordan Adebayo-Smith:

Santos: "He [Jordan Adebayo-Smith] has 12 goals for us; today two more. We talked about not starting him, and of course he was bummed, and I said, 'hey, you played two games in a week and played 90 minutes. Imagine you come in the game when they're tired, how many chances are you going to have and how many goals you can score.' We weren't expecting him to start at the 20th minute, but that was the plan for him and I think at the end he showed how good he is because he's been like that the whole season."

On team's recent success:

Santos: "As of now, we have a bigger group. So, we were able to deal with those three games because we rotated some of the guys, but that is competition. Everybody wants to be on the field. Everybody wants to play 90 minutes. And going into the last stretch, everybody's healthy. So, now that we have almost a game a week, it's going to be great. I think keeping those guys healthy and hungry is the goal for the last five games."

Revolution II Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith

On the team's overall performance:

Adebayo-Smith: "I thought the group was great today. It's been a difficult stretch of games; we had three games in eight days. For us to get the most amount of points we can get in these tough games, it's good for the group."

On entering as a substitute in the 21st minute and scoring two goals:

Adebayo-Smith: "It's obviously difficult not to have the usual warmup that you have when you're starting, but Marcelo [Santos] believes in me, and trusts me all the time. He says, 'go out there, score a goal and do what you do, keep making it difficult for the defense and you'll get a chance.' It happened today, and I just want to thank Marcelo for that."

On New England's attack and surpassing 50 goals in a single season:

Adebayo-Smith: "It's electrifying, I describe it like that. There's so much talent, especially when the first-team guys come down like Esmir [Bajraktarević] and Tico [Damian Rivera]. It just makes it easier for me because they find a good ball in behind or to my feet. They create a lot of chances. I feel like as a whole we know how to play with each other, and that's shown through the goals we've scored and we're trying to be even more clinical in the future."

On his new goal celebration:

Adebayo-Smith: "I remember we were playing head tennis this week and Jake [Rozhansky] was on the other team so I was just trying to tell him that I can't hear him."

On the final stretch of the season:

Adebayo-Smith: "We want to finish as strong as possible. We still believe that we can finish first, I believe so as well. I feel like we're just going to try to win every game that we have. If it takes us to first place, then hopefully that's what we can achieve this year."

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