FOXBOROUGH – Just before what would have been New England Revolution coach Caleb Porter’s “proudest moment” of the season, FC Dallas scored a late penalty, etching a 1-1 draw heading into the Leagues Cup’s month-long regular season break.
Homegrown talent Peyton Miller, the second youngest player to start for the Revs (7-14-2) at 16 years old, put on a tactical attacking and defensive display as the Connecticut native earned his first MLS start Saturday night.
“At one point, he came over to me and he’s like, ‘these guys need to keep getting me the ball,’” Porter said. “That’s the mentality you want out of a kid. He’s brave and aggressive. he wants the ball, wants to win.
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
“I thought he was unbelievable. (He) showed his quickness. Like I’ve been telling you guys in preseason … this kid is something else. He’d probably have (played) 10 games or more if he wasn’t injured.”
Eight players still stack the Revolution’s injury list in Carles Gil (leg), Tomas Chancalay (knee), Noel Buck (quad), Nacho Gil (leg), Emmanuel Boateng (hamstring), Dylan Borrero (hip), Giacomo Vrioni (calf), DeJuan Jones (hamstring).
“I told the group yesterday and today, at a minimum in this club, it doesn’t matter who’s healthy,” Porter said. “We will fight and we will make it hard. Even though we have a bunch of guys out, they still can get the job done. And I think we did show that today. I thought our intensity, our fight, they took ownership…that’s the key.”
Miller, homegrown winger Esmir Bajraktarevic, Ecuadorian defender Xavier Arreaga and Ian Harkes made key plays, blocks and optimistic attacking sequences building from the back in the first half of play. The Revs recorded eight shots, zero of which were on goal, and dominated possession.
65 minutes in, Canadian midfielder Mark Anthony-Kaye ripped a long ball forward to Miller on the left, who assisted veteran striker Bobby Wood’s aerial tap in, later credited to a Nkosi Tafari own goal.
“I’ll have to look at that again because I thought he got a kick on it,” Porter said. “It’s a great cross … Bobby, I thought put a shift in. I mean, honestly, we thought he’d maybe play 60 minutes at most, and he ended up playing 90.”
Four minutes later, midfielder Tommy McNamara made his mark with a header off an Harkes cross, but the play was soon deemed offside.
“You look at Bobby Wood and Tommy Mac … experienced guys,” Porter said. “I kind of went with guys that I knew, even though they’re in the twilight, they’re savvy. The little things that Tommy does, you don’t always notice … he doesn’t have the engine he used to have, but you could see his quality. You can see his confidence. Same with Bobby Wood.”
But a foul on Dallas winger Tarik Scott by defender Henry Kessler forced a penalty with six minutes of play left, belted into the top right by captain Paul Arriola.
FC Dallas (8-11-6) had gone a 5-0-3 prior to Saturday night’s tie and now occupy 11th place in the Western Conference. Conversely, the Revs’ record consists of four losses coming out of their previous five matches and sit at the bottom of the East.
“I know this last week we lost three in a row,” Porter said. “But I think today goes a long way for our mentality. I’m not a moral victory guy, usually. My standards are very high, but under the circumstances of the situation we’re in and the guys we played, I couldn’t be prouder of the group.”
New England is scheduled to host Liga MX side Mazatlan on July 27, and then Nashville SC on August 6 as part of this summer’s Leagues Cup.
“For me, this last week especially has been tough with how thin we are,” Porter said. “I expect in the last 11 games, I’ve said it, us to be back in the form and health that we were when we won five of seven and four in a row. And I still believe that we’re going to make a very strong push for the playoffs.”
