By Alex Calabrese
WATCH: Alhassan Yusuf bags brilliant hat trick for New England
Alhassan Yusuf and the New England Revolution are back on track.
The Revs reminded everyone why they’re comfortably in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, cruising past D.C. United, 3-0, at Audi Field on Wednesday night. Yusuf scored all three goals, capitalizing on a dominant performance from first-year head coach Marko Mitrović’s team.
“For certain things, I’m very aware that we need time,” Mitrović said postgame.
“What I feel is that with time, the understanding is higher and higher, and it’s clearer for them what they have to do. I think we are seeing results in our performance.”
Standout starsThe game was an important one for the Revolution, who needed a bounce-back result after successive losses to Houston and Toronto the last two weekends. Wednesday proved to be a great opportunity for that, and they controlled large spells of the game against a ninth-placed D.C. team competing for a playoff spot.
It was Yusuf who stole the headlines from Wednesday's match with his first career hat trick. He opened the scoring after 23 minutes, before doubling the advantage just before halftime. Yusuf completed his Man of the Match performance 21 minutes into the second half, putting a cherry on the Revs' statement performance with a well-taken header from close range.
The hat trick brings Yusuf up to 5g/2a this year, the most goals he's ever scored in a single season in his entire career. He became the eighth player in club history to score a hat trick in a regular-season match and the first to do so since Kei Kamara nine years ago.
The Nigerian international was aided by new Designated Player winger Jack Harrison, who was heavily involved against D.C., contributing assists on all three goals as he continues to gel with his new teammates.
“The good thing is that very quickly, we started to get from Jack what we want to get,” Mitrović said. "We believe that we can get those performances from Jack in the long term.”
“Both [Yusuf and Harrison] did their jobs. But sometimes it’s not just about doing your job. You have to do that job at a high level, with high quality, and both of them just executed all three goals perfectly.”
Miller magicThe Revs’ other star who shone brightly was 18-year-old talent Peyton Miller, who stepped up in a big way off the left wing. The U.S. youth international contributed to New England’s breakthrough in the 22nd minute, heading Harrison’s switched ball back across the penalty area for Yusuf to head home.
Miller – who is reportedly attracting plenty of interest from top clubs in Europe – has been an exciting young asset in a variety of positions, including the left wing, right wing, and his natural left back role.
“I’m very proud of him because those are the steps that every player has to go through,” Mitrović said. “Peyton is someone who is very young, and maybe he’s facing some things for the first time in his life. But the most important thing is: How are we going to bypass those challenges?”
“Peyton is really doing a great job, and I can say I’m really proud of him and nothing else.”
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