Revolution striker Giacomo Vrioni scores twice in 2-1 win over Atlanta

New England Revolution’s Giacomo Vrioni, right, pictured during a June 10 game in Foxboro, scored two goals in a key 2-1 win over Atlanta on Wednesday night. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

FOXBORO – The New England Revolution rallied from a devastating loss and held on for a quality victory.

Forward Giacomo Vrioni scored twice while goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic made seven saves in a 2-1 win over Atlanta United FC (6-9-6) in front of 20,171 fans on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.

The Revolution got revenge for their embarrassing 4-1 loss to AUFC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 9 and bounced back from their humiliating 5-1 loss to the Columbus Crew at home on June 29. The Revolution improved to 7-11-1 and wrapped up a busy stretch of three games in eight days Saturday night in Seattle.

“A great win, a very important win obviously against Atlanta and they’re behind us by six points,” Porter said. “It was a very important win for us, we had to get it fixed.

“Vrioni scored two great goals and we’re delighted to have scored. But we’re close to finishing and we’re travelling across the country to Seattle and it’s going to be a tough game. But it was the most important game of the week.”

Injuries and a congested schedule have forced Porter to reconfigure his attack, switching from a 4-2-3-1 to a variable 4-3-2-1, while making changes to his starting lineup. Team captain and leading scorer Carles Gil (lower leg) missed his second straight game and is the centerpiece of Porter’s preferred 4-2-3-1 scheme. Midfielder Matt Poster has served as captain in Gil’s absence.

Henry Kessler made his 13th start in place of Dave Romney in central defense alongside Xavier Arreaga, who has established himself as a mainstay of the defense in his 11 starts. The key addition was dynamic forward Dylan Borrero, who missed the last two games with a hip injury. Homegrown midfielders Noel Buck and Esmir Bajraktarevic started together for the second straight week.

“We have two young local players who are playing a big role for us and it’s great to see them,” Porter said. “They’re young players and there’s a mix of good and bad times, but they’re improving and I was really pleased with them tonight.”

Atlanta United pulled back against the Revolution in the opening minutes of the match. The Revolution withstood the initial onslaught and moved the ball into the AUFC third of the field.

The Revolution took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when left back DeJuan Jones played a long through ball to Vrioni, who had gotten away from AUFC defender Derrick Williams. Vrioni made a deft move down the seam between Williams and Stian Gregersen and beat goalkeeper Brad Guzman near the post for his team-high sixth goal of the season.

“It was another game where we started with a really good mentality and I think it’s the sixth game in a row where we’ve scored the first goal,” Porter said.

Atlanta United earned back-to-back corners during a brief late surge, but Revolution responded with a brilliant collaboration between Buck and Vrioni that made it 2-0 in the 45th minute. Buck sent the ball across the box to Vrioni, who scored from a free kick inside the near post.

“Both of our goals were great, in my opinion,” Porter said. “The first one, DeJuan was in the lane and Giacomo made a great individual play. Our second goal was great.”

Vrioni had two chances to score a hat-trick in the 74th and 75th minutes. In the first, Vrioni was assaulted in the AUFC half while chasing a through ball. In the second, Vrioni found the back of the net but the play was ruled offside. Atlanta United forward Daniel Rios scored in the 90th minute to deny Ivacic his third clean sheet.

“We waited too long and it wasn’t meant to be,” Porter said. “I think in some ways the guys were tired and we didn’t have a lot of substitutes. We should have scored the third goal to end the game, but we didn’t.”