FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Since taking the reins of the New England Revolution in mid-November, Brad Friedel has outlined a tactical philosophy rooted in top-level fitness, high pressure, and a relentless, tireless attack from front to back.
That philosophy has been instilled steadily throughout preseason and the first few weeks of the league campaign as Friedel and his staff have taken a progressive approach, always building upon the day’s previous lessons as they’ve climbed towards an ultimate objective.
The results of that approach were evident in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with New York City FC, as the Revs put together a dominant first-half performance by suffocating the visitors with their high press, leading directly to Diego Fagundez’s opening goal and several other clear-cut chances.
“It’s not every game we’re going to have to press that high, nor will we, but we thought that was a good tactic and it paid off,” said Friedel. “We did everything in the first half except score the multiple goals that I think we deserved.”
New England’s performance against NYCFC was encouraging not just because they could’ve – and should’ve – put the game away before halftime, but because the method in which they attacked their opponent followed Friedel’s philosophy to a tee.
Jalil Anibaba called it a clear sign that the Revs “can implement a game plan,” while goalkeeper Matt Turner said the positive showing will serve as inspiration as they move deeper into the season.
“Our confidence is growing every week, and I think you saw that on Saturday,” said Turner. “That was the first game that we peppered (an opponent) and got tons of chances. As we start to grow and continue to get more comfortable with each other – because we have a lot of new players – the chances will start coming and then we’ll lock it down in the back.”
“Since the first preseason game, it’s gotten better and better and better,” added Andrew Farrell. “Obviously we have to fine-tune some things here and there, but I think fitness-wise we can [press] for 90 minutes. We just have to make sure we get the details right.”
Friedel said his staff have implemented “probably 70-to-80-percent” of the style they ultimately want to play – “We’ve just taken over, and it is a style that we want to impose,” he said – but he’s confident that the current group have the talent and desire to continue evolving under his new system.
Last weekend’s performance against NYCFC was proof positive that the Revs are on the right path, and while they were disappointed not to take the full three points from a game in which they dominated for long stretches, their confidence gained from the showing may be worth much more.
“Now that we’ve gotten over the hump with the fitness and [the players] knowing what our philosophy is, we can now go game-to-game on how we’re going to go tactically against each opponent,” Friedel said. “The players have been very, very good at adapting to everything so far.”
