New England shakes off late scare, routs Orlando City 4-2 behind braces from Gil and Miller

Gillette Stadium served up a heart-stopping finish that ended in a 4-2 win for the New England Revolution, who thought they had the game wrapped up before watching it get complicated deep into stoppage time, then closed it out with two late goals in extra time. Orlando City SC pulled level from the penalty spot with three minutes left in regulation, but the Revolution answered with a lethal counterattack that delivered all three points in MLS.

The story got going early. In the 18th minute, Carles Gil struck from outside the box, curling a left-footed shot into the top corner off an assist from Jackson Yueill to make it 1-0. The home side controlled much of the first half, with Dor Turgeman and Gil himself both threatening again before the break, though neither could add a second.

In the second half, New England looked ready to put the game away early: in the 58th minute, Peyton Miller finished into the middle of the goal off a counterattack set up by Turgeman to make it 2-0. But Orlando City SC responded quickly. Just three minutes later, Ivan Angulo pulled one back with a low shot inside the post to make it 2-1, restoring tension to a game that had seemed to be settled.

The closing stretch was the wildest part. In the 81st minute, VAR reviewed a play inside the box and awarded Orlando City SC a penalty. Six minutes later, Martin Ojeda converted with a low shot inside the post to make it 2-2, setting up an uncertain finish.

That's when the decisive chapter unfolded. With ten minutes of stoppage time on the clock, New England struck again on the counter: in the 92nd minute, Peyton Miller notched his second goal of the night to make it 3-2, and just three minutes later Carles Gil sealed the rout with the final 4-2, also off a counterattack built by Turgeman. In a matter of minutes, the match flipped from a seemingly inevitable draw to a clear win for the home side.

By the numbers

New England was the better side in terms of overall play and clear chances, something the stats back up:

According to our xG estimate calculated from the match's shots, New England generated 2.46 expected goals to Orlando City SC's 1.72, a gap that confirms the home side's greater attacking threat across the 90 minutes, even though the final score ended up wider than those numbers suggested.

The pre-match outlook had pointed to an even contest: a 45% chance of a home win, 24% for a draw and 31% for an away win, with combined expected goals of 3.66 (2 for New England and 1.66 for Orlando City SC). The final result, with four goals from the Revolution, exceeded that projection, though the path there included the scare of a penalty equalizer that the preview hadn't anticipated at that stage of the match.

What the result means in the standings

In the Eastern Conference, New England Revolution holds onto second place with 46 points from 26 games played, while Orlando City SC sits sixth with 34 points from the same number of matches. The gap between the two sides in the table stands at 12 points, a reflection of seasons that, until this meeting, had been heading in different directions: the Revolution fighting near the top and Orlando City SC trying to break into the upper half of the table.

For New England, the match leaves the picture of a team that knows how to strike at the right moments: all four goals came from counterattacks or mid-range shots, with Carles Gil and Peyton Miller the undisputed protagonists, each with a brace. For Orlando City SC, the consolation is having matched their opponent blow for blow in the closing stretch, though the way it ended in stoppage time proved far too costly.