ORLANDO, Fla. – A critical August stretch kicks off on Saturday night when the New England Revolution will visit fellow Eastern Conference playoff contender Orlando City SC.
Just six points separate the sixth-place Revs (7-7-7, 28 pts.) from ninth-place Orlando (7-14-1, 22 pts.) entering the weekend, and all four of the Revolution’s games in the month of August will be against teams currently chasing them in the playoff race.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night at Orlando City Stadium, with NBC Sports Boston televising the match and streaming the action live on their web site and mobile app. Radio listeners can catch the call in English on 98.5 The Sports Hub and in Portuguese on 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Revolution Postgame Live with play-by-play man Brad Feldman and analyst Paul Mariner will begin immediately after the final whistle on NBC Sports Boston, while former New England midfielder Clyde Simms will join host Matt McCarthy on 98.5 The Sports Hub to take calls for 30 minutes after the match.
Current Form: Revs aiming to get back on track after bye; Orlando adjusting to new coach
After putting together their best first half of a season in 10 years (7-4-6) New England have hit a minor speed bump in recent weeks, suffering three straight losses before heading into a mid-summer bye.
Head coach Brad Friedel was largely pleased with his side’s performances in defeats to the LA Galaxy, Minnesota United and the New York Red Bulls, but individual errors at costly moments proved to be the difference between positive results and frustrating losses.
With an extra week to prepare for Saturday night’s showdown with Orlando and to work out any lingering issues, players and coaches are now confident that the Revs will be back to top form this weekend.
“We don’t really have the mentality of a team that should lose twice in a row, let alone three times in a row,” said Friedel. “There were a lot of positives in the three games, with the exception of the results. Training’s been very good. The spirit is high and I know the boys are raring to go.”
“I think the bye week did come at a good time to get some rest and get some fresh outlook on the season,” said center back Jalil Anibaba. “I think we kind of needed to get some things sorted out in-house, and I thought we did that with the bye week.”
New England’s opponent on Saturday night is an Orlando side that’s had a tumultuous 2018 campaign. Since a six-game winning streak in the early stages they’ve lost 12 of their last 13 league contests, including five of their first six under new head coach James O’Connor, who took over for Jason Kreis in late June.
In an interesting twist, O’Connor was in charge of USL side Louisville City FC when they beat the Revs in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup in early June, and since joining Orlando he’s deployed several different lineups in an attempt to find the right fit for his style and system.
“He’ll have a different set of resources at his disposal and he’ll have a different quality of player in front of him, so I don’t think you can compare the two (jobs),” said Friedel. “I think he did a wonderful job at Louisville, there’s no doubt. Right now, with the changing of the lineup so much, he’s obviously trying to find out the players that are going to fit his system, which is absolutely normal to do.”
Past Meetings: Revs and Lions have a history of high-scoring affairs
Home-field advantage has meant everything in the seven-game series between New England and Orlando as the road team has yet to win a match. While the Revs are 2-0-1 against the Lions at Gillette Stadium, they’re 0-2-2 in the Sunshine State, including a 6-1 setback in the most recent meeting between the sides last September.
There were 11 goals scored in a pair of matchups last year as the Revs rolled to a 4-0 win in Foxborough, and there’ve been a total of 30 goals scored in seven meetings for an average of 4.29 goals per game. That trend could continue this weekend as the Lions have conceded a league-high 51 goals through 22 games.
“They have a few players that are very good, very dangerous, as do we,” said Friedel. “They’ve conceded an awful lot of goals this season, so hopefully we can take advantage of some of the situations that I’m sure we’ll be in to finish them off.”
Injury Report: Femi (dislocated elbow) and newcomer Machado both in the mix
He’s still sporting a brace on his left elbow but forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen has returned to full training and is once again available for selection after recovering from the dislocated elbow he suffered in mid-June.
“It’s amazing to get back out there,” Femi said. “Playing again and getting some minutes with the guys out on the field, I love it.”
Also available for selection in Orlando will be newcomer Cristhian Machado, who has officially been added to the Revs’ roster after receiving his international transfer certificate. The versatile Bolivian has been training with New England for the past week and has settled into his new surroundings seamlessly.
The Revolution’s other recent addition, center back Michael Mancienne, will have to wait to make his MLS debut as he won’t officially join the Revs until receiving both his ITC and his P1-Visa.
Final Thoughts: Anibaba says Revs “need to really crank things up” in August
“We’re still in a decent position in the table, but we do need to really crank things up and make sure that we don’t let points slip in crucial moments of the season,” Anibaba said as the Revs head into the final three months of the regular season. “To be honest, the rest of the games are going to be crucial.”
