MLS Regular Season | Match No. 18
New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew
Saturday June 29 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, MA
Watch: FREE on Apple TV
English talents: Nate Bukaty (play-by-play), Devon Kerr (analyst)
Spanish talent: Bruno Vain (commentary), Andres Agulla (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English) 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
English talent: Brad Feldman (commentary), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
12th in the Eastern Conference (6-10-1, 19 pts.)
Latest result | 2-1 victory at FC Cincinnati
It was undoubtedly a rough start to the season for the New England Revolution, but this June saw many of those who had written off the Revs turn around and eat their words. Last Saturday’s victory over defending Supporters’ Shield winners FC Cincinnati – on the road, no less – took the Revolution to 12.th in the Eastern Conference and extended their winning streak to four games, currently the longest active winning streak in the league, and Foxborough’s mind is only on continuing to get the next win and proving the doubters wrong.
Midfielder Carles Gil has been crucial to the team’s recent success, even though his departure wasn’t announced until the weekend. Fortunately, winning contributions have come from all sides of the pitch during this run: three goals from forward Giacomo Vrioni, a goal and an assist from winger Ema Boateng, rockets from Esmir Bajraktarević and Noel Buck, standout performances from Xavier Arreaga and Aljaž Ivačič, and the list could easily go on. Last week’s matchday coach, Caleb Porter, has done a particularly good job of dealing with injuries and inspiring his sometimes depleted team to what is becoming an impressive turnaround midway through the season.
Columbus’s crew
5th in the Eastern Conference (8-3-6, 30 pts.)
Latest result | 4-0 victory against Sporting Kansas City
The reigning MLS Cup champions are proving once again this season that they are a force to be reckoned with, sitting in fifth place.th in the Eastern Conference thanks in large part to a defense that is currently the stingiest in the league. The 4-0 win over Sporting Kansas City last Saturday was just another sign of their dominance, and particularly that of hat-trick hero Cucho Hernández.
This victory allowed the team to win five of its last six matches, including four in a row and away. However, prior to this winning run, the Black and Gold had not won in seven games, a cold run that included five consecutive draws. Now that they are fit again, Caleb Porter said he is relishing the challenge of hosting not only last year’s champions, but also the club with which he won the second MLS Cup of his career. ‘coach.
KEY PLAYERS
Xavier Arreaga, defender of the revolution
The Revolution have now conceded just five goals in their last five games, including a clean sheet, and that’s thanks in part to newcomer and versatile defender Xavier Arreaga. He’s started every one of the Revolution’s nine games since joining from Seattle Sounders FC in April, and the Revs have gone 5-4-0 in that span, with Arreaga undoubtedly playing a crucial role in the team’s turnaround.
His efforts last weekend were particularly noteworthy on both ends of the pitch, with the Ecuadorian showing himself to be both a strong defender and a confident dribbler capable of getting creative with the ball. The performance earned him a spot on the MLS Matchday Team, his first such honor since arriving at New England, and a similarly dynamic and dominant performance will surely be needed if the Revs are to hold off the prolific Columbus Crew.
Team forward Cucho Hernández
Not only did Cucho Hernández join Arreaga in last week’s best XI; he was named player of the day after scoring three of Columbus’ four goals in their shutout against Sporting Kansas City. That hat-trick performance took his tally to nine goals this season in just 12 appearances, and also kept him on a three-game goal streak, which he will surely hope to continue at Foxborough.
At his current rate, Cucho is on course to surpass the 16-goal season he had last year, although he has been less productive on the creative side of the attack so far this campaign, registering just two assists so far. The Revolution defence will surely be looking to eliminate the former Watford man as much as possible this weekend.
WHAT THEY SAY
Revolution head coach Caleb Porter on maintaining the team’s confidence during this positive run:
“It’s easy at the moment because the group feels good. We have won four times in a row. I think it’s more a question of staying hungry than anything else. We will keep the knife between our teeth and continue to push, improve in training and work hard. Obviously, it also helps when you play against a very good team. The guys didn’t need any motivation to go to Cincinnati. They knew we were playing against a very good team that we had to play well against. It’s the same for Columbus. Obviously, last year’s MLS Cup champions have a lot of quality. They’re coming off a 4-0 loss (to Kansas City) and they’re a very difficult team to play. I think this is another game where I hope we can show that we are good enough to beat a team like Columbus. »
On facing a former Columbus Crew club:
“I’m proud of my time in Columbus and proud to be part of an MLS Cup championship team, one of three they have. Being able to put a star on the badge was special. I gave everything I had to the club while I was there, even in the years we didn’t win the MLS Cup. Great memories from my time there, but I’m just really happy to be with New England right now and I’m excited about the future of this club. I’m looking forward to playing Columbus because, again, I love playing against the best teams and they’re definitely one of the best teams. We really discover what his group is made of and I think it’s a great follow-up to Cincy. Can we start again?
Focusing on the similarities between Columbus’ tactical formation and other teams the Revs have faced recently:
“We’re in a rhythm of play against teams that are 3-5-2; this is more of a 3-4-3. So it’s also nice to be able to play against another team that we’re used to, to a certain extent, with their setup and their structures. But it’s a different type of game, it’s definitely a different type of game. Cincinnati is a little bit more of a transition team, and this team (Columbus) is probably the best at keeping the ball and dominating games.”
Focus on the return and ongoing recovery of defenseman Brandon Bye:
“He’s very experienced. Like DeJuan (Jones), he’s the perfect profile for what I look for in my fullbacks: he’s box-to-box, very athletic and has a lot of range to get forward in the attack, and also defend in the channel one-on-one. But Nick (Lima) is doing very well. I told Brandon he had to come in and earn his position. Obviously, that’s been his job the last few years. He’s certainly got the talent and it’s just going to take time to integrate him. The biggest challenge is trying to give him enough minutes to get him started. Every game is extremely important to us and you can’t just throw a guy in for 30 minutes here and there, you can’t schedule that; you have to do what’s best for that game. Fortunately, he was able to get some minutes (against FC Cincinnati).”
Revolution goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič explains how the team reacted after conceding a goal against FC Cincinnati:
“It’s normal. It’s tough to play away. But to be honest, not just me but the whole team, we were very confident. I felt like if we had played another 30 minutes, we would have won the game (again). It’s all about confidence and mentality. I think we showed, we sent a message that we can beat anyone, even one of the best teams in MLS last year.”
Revolution defender DeJuan Jones on the team’s approach to the upcoming series of three games in eight days:
“It’s definitely going to be tough, but we have good depth on the team and guys are ready to step up. Right now, we’re taking it one game at a time. We’re looking forward to Columbus this weekend and then we’ll take care of next week.”
Revolution midfielder Ian Harkes on the team’s depth in midfield:
“I think we’ve got a lot of guys that have a good rapport in this team and understand each other, whether it’s (Matt) Polster or Noel (Buck) or Mark-Anthony (Kaye), all of us in midfield, if we’re rotating, we’ve got to do a job, but we’re also adapting to the system that Caleb and the coaches have put in place for us. We work on it every day in practice, so that when it comes time to step in and get in, it’s still a natural pattern, and then we can let our individual flair shine through in the final third.
