But there is one series that defies all logic. It is, in a good way, the most Concacafy of all CCL ties. To find it, we must go back to August of 2008, to the very first round in CCL history. Today we revisit what is for my money the most astounding, jaw dropping scoreline we have ever seen and ever will see: New England Revolution 0, Joe Public FC 4.
The 2-1 home victory for Joe Public in the first leg maybe wasn’t the biggest shock in the world, but it was still a surprise to say the least. Later on in the tournament Joe Public would lose all three of their home group matches, including a 4-1 defeat to the then USL based Montreal Impact. Teams from Trinidad and Tobago were not supposed to be beating MLS sides, and in fact in Joe Public’s previous CONCACAF outings they had lost 8-0 to DC United, 2-0 to the Chicago Fire, and a respectable 1-0 to Pachuca, all in the first round. The home leg against New England was Joe Public’s first ever win in CONCACAF’s top competition, period.
But it is the second leg of this series that really deserves attention. What a great game for CONCACAF lore. It was the first round of the Champions League era. Mark Geiger was the 4th official. Gillette Stadium, an NFL venue, was packed with roughly 3,000 fans and 60,000 empty seats. And Joe Public FC, who at the time sat in 6th place in the TT Pro League, demolished the New England Revolution 4-0. It was ugly.
The hero of the day was Guyanese striker Gregory Richardson, who notched a hat trick and added the assist on the other goal to launch himself into the history books. Richardson’s legendary performance in this match eventually earned him a contract with the Colorado Rapids a year later. He would play just 11 minutes in his MLS career, quickly moving to the US lower divisions and then back home to his native Guyana in 2013. Richardson still plays in the Guyanese League at the age of 37, and even got onto the national team roster in 2019 for the Nations League, though he hasn't seen the field for them in a few years.
Now your first thought upon reading all this might be: “Okay, it was 2008, New England probably didn’t care about this competition and played a bunch of 19 year olds.” But if you take a look at the starting XI that day, that simply wasn’t the case. Yes, New England were without their starting forwards including Taylor Twellman, but fill-in Khano Smith started 26 games for the Revs a year prior, and had 18 starts in 2008. He was by no means a reserve player.
Regardless of the situation up top, the back line for the Revs that day, the one responsible for giving up four goals at home, was loaded with talent. Jay Heaps and Christian Tierney played 240 games each for the Revolution and were perennial starters for a decade. Jeff Larentowicz played 111 games with New England and is still a productive MLS player over twelve years later. Gabriel Badilla (Rest in Peace) earned 25 caps for Costa Rica.
Furthermore goalkeeper Matt Reis was the Revs starter for 10 years, and defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who captained New England that day, played over 260 games for the Revolution and was named to the MLS Best XI four times, including during 2008. Along with Twellman, he’s debatably the best player in the club’s history.
There is really not much of a case to be made that Joe Public defeated a phony lineup in Foxborough. A similar squad defeated Atlante in the Superliga just a month prior to the Joe Public series. Atlante, of course, would go on to win the first CONCACAF Champions League while the Revolution were embarrassed.
This upset is so absurd that it doesn't even give me hope for more in the future. It was such a rare occurrence that I cannot fathom ever happening again. There is just one Caribbean team in the 2020 CCL, Jamaica's Portmore United. Most people would be surprised if they keep it within four goals against Cruz Azul; winning by four goals on the road is not even a possibility. This game is special to look back on because I truly don't think it will EVER happen again.
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