FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Chris Tierney, making his 200th regular-season start in his 10th year, delivered an inspired pregame speech to his New England Revolution teammates prior to Saturday afternoon’s home opener against Minnesota United FC.
After coming away from the season’s first two games – a pair of road trips to Colorado and Dallas – with zero points, Tierney emphasized the importance of righting the ship in Foxborough, and the opportunity that stood before the Revs in front of their hometown fans.
“It was time to draw a line in the sand,” Tierney said. “We had been frustrated with our first two results – two really tough road games for us – and I thought we fought hard and had some small mistakes that cost us games.
“There are certain times in the season where you just have to win the game. This was one of those days.”
Not only did the Revs win, they did so in style, scoring four first-half goals en route to a 5-2 victory. Juan Agudelo led the charge with a pair of goals, while Kei Kamara, Lee Nguyen and Tierney himself were all on the scoresheet, as well.
Diego Fagundez was also stellar, setting up a pair of goals, drawing a penalty kick, and playing the through ball that led to Agudelo drawing another spot-kick.
“We knew we weren’t going to lose this game,” said Fagundez. “We had it in our minds that we were going to leave here with three points, and I think it showed. Everybody worked hard, everybody was unselfish, and when we had our chances, we finished them.”
Sparking the offensive explosion, in part, was a tactical shift that pushed Agudelo higher alongside Kamara, while Nguyen dropped a bit deeper into more of a playmaking role. It paid dividends early, as the Revs brought high energy from the opening whistle and broke through after just four minutes.
Although the Loons briefly equalized in the 15th minute, New England’s response – three more goals before halftime – put the result well beyond doubt.
“Everybody wanted the ball,” said Agudelo. “I think our hunger to have the ball on our feet and our desire, that’s what won us the game today.”
Saturday’s win got the Revolution off the mark and gave them a vital three points, particularly ahead of next weekend’s trip to the Pacific Northwest for a nationally-televised meeting with the Portland Timbers.
As sharp as the Revs were for long stretches of their comprehensive victory over Minnesota, head coach Jay Heaps knows that an even better performance will be required at Providence Park.
“We needed to get home and get a feel and a flow going,” Heaps said. “It’s a confidence builder, because we showed that we can rally ourselves and make the move that we needed to.
“But there are still a lot of improvements. It was a 5-2 game, but we feel like we have a lot of improving to do.”
