FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Diego Fagundez’s wonder-goal quite deservedly stole the spotlight in Saturday night’s 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire, but a stout defensive performance was just as vital in helping the New England Revolution snap their six-game winless run.
Frustrated after conceding 12 goals through that six-game span the Revs vowed to button up against the Fire, and did just that as they kept their fifth clean sheet of the season – their first since April 25.
“It’s always important to get clean sheets when you can,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “I thought it was a good overall performance from front to back. I think it was a much-needed performance from us.”
Heaps has consistently lauded the importance of team defense – starting with pressure from the forward line – but reserved special praise for the Revolution’s backline on Saturday night, including wingbacks London Woodberry and Chris Tierney.
The highest compliments, however, were directed towards the Revolution’s central defensive pair.
“To me, this week our tone was set by Jose Goncalves and Andrew Farrell,” Heaps said. “They really put the work in this week. It was important for us to get the three points and that was the message. We needed to tighten the screws and not give anything up.”
Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth was rarely troubled between the pipes but did make four saves, including a stellar one-handed stop on a Jason Johnson header to preserve the shutout in the 90th minute.
The clean sheet marked a return to the robust defensive form the Revs had shown through the month of April, when they conceded just one goal while shutting out three of their four opponents.
Now they’ll hope to continue that form as they head into their busiest period of the season, with four games crammed into an 11-day stretch from June 17 to June 27.
“Obviously the past six games weren’t too pretty,” Farrell admitted. “But I think when we get it together, when we get everybody on the same page, we’re going to be a tough team to break down.”
