FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The red-hot New England Revolution will look to solidify their spot in the Eastern Conference playoff places on Sunday night when they visit Columbus Crew SC at MAPFRE Stadium.
FS1 will broadcast the Revs (9-12-9, 36 pts.) – Crew SC (6-11-11, 29 pts.) clash nationally beginning at 7 p.m. ET, while local radio listeners can tune into 98.5 The Sports Hub (English) and WMVX 1570 AM (Portuguese).
Current Form: Three straight wins push Revs into the Eastern Conference playoff picture
New England’s late-season resurgence continued last weekend north of the border, where the Revs claimed a convincing 3-1 road win over the Montreal Impact. Kei Kamara returned to the starting lineup and scored after just 22 seconds, while Kelyn Rowe earned MLS Player of the Week honors by adding the second and third goals.
WATCH: Rowe factors into all three goals as Revs roll at Stade Saputo
It was the Revolution’s third straight win in league play – following up home wins over the Colorado Rapids and New York City FC – and it’s a run that’s pushed them above the red line in the Eastern Conference after a frustrating summer stretch put them on the playoff bubble.
“Obviously, we’d like to be in a better position,” said London Woodberry. “But we’re still in a good position. We’re fighting. I think that tells you a lot about our guys. We’ve got a never-give-up mentality in the locker room and everybody wants to do well the next game, and keep fighting for playoff position.”
Columbus have also had their difficulties this season, muddling through a 10-game winless run through the summer months. But they’ve steadied the ship in recent weeks, going 3-3-0 in their last six as they try to make a late push to the postseason and defend their Eastern Conference title.
Crew SC is coming off perhaps their most explosive performance of the season, as Ethan Finlay and Ola Kamara combined to push Columbus to a 4-1 road win over Orlando City SC last weekend.
“Columbus is a good team,” Woodberry said. “They’ve had their struggles just like us this season, but I think if we come to play and we’re on our game, then we’re going to get a positive result.”
Past Meetings: Sunday’s tilt to serve as the rubber match in the 2016 series
Sunday night’s nationally-televised meeting between the Revs and Crew SC will be the rubber match in their 2016 regular-season series, as the sides have already split a pair of encounters at Gillette Stadium. The Revs claimed a 3-1 win on July 9, while Crew SC turned the tables with a 2-0 win on August 20.
New England haven’t visited MAPFRE Stadium in more than a year, their last trip to Columbus coming last June. That night Lee Nguyen scored a first-minute goal, only to be answered by a pair of Kei Kamara strikes in a 2-1 Columbus victory. Kamara has since, of course, been traded to New England.
In fact, Sunday night will mark Kamara’s first trip back to MAPFRE Stadium since the mid-May trade that brought him from Columbus to Foxborough.
Injury Report: Koffie (ankle) and Watson (groin) continue to recover
Both Gershon Koffie (ankle) and Je-Vaughn Watson (groin) missed last weekend’s win over Montreal after limping off in the first half of the U.S. Open Cup final last Tuesday night. The duo has combined to make 43 appearances this season, and both have been regular starters when available.
Scott Caldwell shifted to the base of New England’s diamond midfield in Koffie’s absence, and earned praise from head coach Jay Heaps as he helped limit Montreal’s potent attack by shielding the back four, while simultaneously kick-starting New England’s attack on multiple occasions.
“He was seamless,” Heaps said of Caldwell. “He sat in there and did a good job winning balls. He’s really good playing out; I thought we were really good playing out. We did experience some overload and I thought our center backs – London, in particular, and Jose (Goncalves) – had very good games to complement Scotty.”
Final Thoughts: Revs continue to grind out results with their backs against the wall
“You really don’t want to be in this position where every game matters, but everything is on the line,” Heaps said about the Revolution’s playoff battle. “We’ve started that playoff mentality and we have to continue to play one game at a time. I think we do a good job of that.
“Unfortunately, it’s now. But at the same time, we have to use that as a positive and use that as a strength, that we can dig in right now and use it to get points.”
