New England Revolution Down Toronto FC 3-1 in Ontario

The New England Revolution took care of business Sunday night as the boys in blue handed Toronto FC a 3-1 thrashing in rainy Ontario. After an own goal off of a Teal Bunbury centered pass put the Revs up 1-0 in the opening minutes of play, Diego Fagundez showed why he is the Revs’ best player at the moment with a beautiful finesse-shot goal in the 39^th minute. Toronto FC began to claw their way back in the second half with a Robbie Findley goal in the 55^th minute, but it wasn’t enough as substitute Kelyn Rowe picked Michael Bradley’s pocket for a goal in the 71^st minute to seal all three points for the Revs.

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Was the scoreline indicative of the Revs’ performance on the night? Absolutely not. The back line did seem shaky at times, although New England center-back Andrew Farrell stepped up in key instances to disrupt dangerous attacking play. Toronto FC star forward Sebastian Giovinco tore past Revs right-back Jeremy Hall on multiple occasions, causing havoc in the box throughout the game. Although I hate to be critical of individual defenders as a simple mistake could make the world’s best defenders seem out of place, Hall’s wing did see the assist that brought Toronto within one goal of tying the game.

This is telling of the Revs’ defensive situation as a whole. We have known about the team’s weaknesses in the right-back and center-back positions since the beginning of the season, with Farrell switching defensive roles after former Revs center-back A.J. Soares’ departure. The fact that we are at the end of the season and management still hasn’t fixed this problem (not to mention the club’s complete inactivity in the transfer market) is telling of the commitment to finally bringing the MLS Cup to Foxborough.

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On a more positive note, Diego Fagundez is on fire. We’ve known this. It is a pleasure watching him play at this level every week. I may be jumping the gun, but former English Premiership side Fulham FC dished out $4 million to take Clint Dempsey off New England’s hands in 2006.

Now Fagundez signed an undisclosed multi-year contract with the Revs back in 2013, but how long is it until a decent European side snatches him up for an even bigger fee? No doubt Fagundez will have suitors knocking at his door once this season closes. Unfortunately, I would say the Revs will have no hesitation selling the youngster should they see a transfer fee similar to the one offered by Fulham back in 2006.

Next: Jermaine Jones Starts for USMNT in 2-1 Victory Over Peru