Back to back wins are a season first for the New England Revolution (5-10-1), who held the New York Red Bulls scoreless (1-0) thanks to an Emmanuel Boateng tap-in and uncharacteristically strong defensive display on Saturday night.
“I thought we won the game today because we defended well from start to finish,” Revolution coach Caleb Porter said. “For me, there was never never a question it was going to be clean sheet today. … And that’s that’s not just the goalkeeper in the backline. It’s everybody. Everybody dug in, battled in a difficult game.
Straight from kickoff, Carlos Gil distinguished himself technically from his teammates, creating numerous breakaways, and jumpstarting play that led to the team’s first goal 80 minutes in.
The Revolution retained majority possession throughout the match, adhering to Porter’s system anchored in maintaining possession and exclusively playing out of the defense.
“I didn’t think we played as well today as we did against New York City, or Nashville,” Porter said. “I did think there were periods where we really put some good football together. … We needed a little spark, and Emmanuel (Boateng) came in and found that spark. We had a good chat a couple of days ago, and I told him, he needed to be better. He really took that the right way and found the goal.”
Just past the 10th minute, Gil burst forward on the left and crossed the ball to Ian Harkes who shot too far right outside the box. Twenty minutes later, the midfielder sliced a through ball to Vrioni down the middle, who was unable to finish.
Two touches from Gil and a left-footed Boateng finish 83 minutes in solidified the scoreboard.
Noel Buck, Esmir Bajraktarevic, and Harry Kessler missed Saturday’s matchup for international duty. Tomas Chancalay, who has a sore knee, Nacho Gil, Brandon Bye and Peyton Miller are injured and were unavailable.
To bolster the Revs’ depth chart, Jack Panayotou was recalled from his loan to USL Championship side Rhode Island FC, although the Cambridge native saw no playing time on Saturday.
“We’re putting consistent performances together,” Porter said. “I think that’s the key. The biggest key is our mentality has been stronger. And we’re finding ways to get results. We’re evolving in every aspect … the defending, the chance creation, finding goals; I’d still like us to find a few more, the mentality, everything … the confidence. I know the group very well. I’ve grown to really love all these guys a lot.”
The Revs remain rooted at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table and six points away from playoff contention.
“I’m confident this group can make a run here,” Porter said. “We know we’re in a hole. There’s no doubt about it. We’re in a hole. We’ve got to continue to fight our way out. It’s going to take every game until the end of the season. It’s going to be a fight every single week until the end of the year. Our guys are ready for that fight.”
Going forward, Porter hopes to improve precision, especially behind the line, cross accuracy, and turf acclimation.
Six of the Revolution’s next nine regular season matches will be at home through the Leagues Cup break in July. Next up is the Vancouver Whitecaps, ranked fifth in the Western Conference, on Saturday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m.
