Revs lose, while Portland and RIFC draw

Another pro Footy weekend is complete. The Revs, RIFC and Portland HOP were all in action giving the New England Footy fans wall to wall viewing.

The 1st game of the weekend took place on Saturday evening as RIFC hosted Birmingham at CBS@TL. Birmingham took the early lead in the 27th minute when keeper Fernando Delgado's longball cut out the RIFC press, and former RIFC man Stephen Turnbull found Ronaldo Damus for the goal. Damus now has 7 goals on the season which places him 7th in the USL Championship.

RIFC was able to find an equalizer in the 44th minute. That goal came from Noah Fuson who was deployed in a more central #10 role. Fuson's goal was a well placed left footed curler.

Fuson has been more involved the last 2 matches since Khano Smith's tactical change, which has Maxi Rodriguez playing a deeper playmaking role and Fuson ahead of him and Clay Holstad pulling the strings as the #10.

Birmingham was not content on a draw and nearly found go-ahead goals several times. RIFC keeper Jackson Lee made several key stops preserving the draw.

That match set the stage for the late night kickoff between the Revs and the Timbers. Providence Park was rocking per usual and the home faithful were treated to a 2-1 victory.

Ian Smith opened the scoring for the Timbers in the 20th minute, when the defender drilled his left footed shot past Aljaz Ivacic. Intricate passing and touches in the lead up had me impressed and nodding in approval.

New England knotted the match up at 1, when Carles Gil found Luca Langoni on a long ball forward. Langoni was left with a lot to do, and did making no mistake beating Timbers keeper Maxime Crepeau for his 1st goal of 2025.

New England created several scoring opportunities for Leo Campana, but he was unable to tally on the night. Campana was served a perfect ball from Peyton Miller in the 1st half, and skied his left footed shot into the Timbers Army. He had other chances as well, but his performance Saturday night served as a microcosm of 2025.

The 2nd half was a back and forth affair, with both teams creating winning moments. That's when Portland's David Da Costa won the game for his side in the 72nd minute. Da Costa beat Ivacic far post with a lovely shot, sending the Timbers Army into a frenzy and putting the Revs faithful in misery.

New England was unable to find a game tying goal and dropped to 6-6-7 on the season. Inter Miami comes to town on Wednesday and you can be sure a crowd of 45k plus will be in attendance.

New England needs reinforcement, and the transfer window opens July 18th. Caleb Porter mentioned that the team doesn't have much cap space, which is disappointing, since the team is not a top 10 spender in MLS.

It's the same Ole same Ole in Foxboro, and I will be surprised if the team is able to make the playoffs in 2025.

That led us to Sunday night and the Portland Hearts of Pine Sunday evening kickoff vs South Georgia Tormenta.

Once again Fitzpatrick stadium was packed to the brim with fans of all ages cheering on their Hearts. The top Supporters Group in New England "Dirigo Union" were out in full voice creating the best atmosphere in New England pro Footy.

Jay Tee Kamara brought the house down in the 45+3 minute when his left footed effort beat Austin Pack giving Portland the 1-0 lead.

The 2nd half was a bit choppy in play and that's exactly how South Georgia equalized.

Jonathan Nyandjo took a back post headed ball and volleyed home the equalizer for South Georgia.

A 74th minute red card to Callum Stretch of South Georgia did not impact the final outcome and the game finished 1-1 and both squads split the points.

Another pro Footy weekend has passed, RIFC and Portland are just outside of the playoff places. I think RIFC needs to get healthy, and Portland could use another attacking option to help generate more goals.

The Revs sit in 11th place, 4 points off of the playoffs, and they need personnel. I am not sure how they make it happen, it could be another disappointing summer and fall in Foxboro.