MLS Regular Season | Match #28
New England Revolution vs. CF Montréal
Wednesday, September 18 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
English Talent: Eric Krakauer (play-by-play), Jalil Anibaba (analyst)
Spanish Talent: Jesús Acosta (play-by-play), Carlos Suárez (analyst)
French Talent: Frédéric Lord (play-by-play), Vincent Destouches (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English) 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
15th in Eastern Conference (8-16-3, 27 pts.)
Last Result | 3-0 loss at Orlando City SC
The New England Revolution went into last Saturday’s match against Orlando City SC with high hopes for what a positive result could do for their chances of qualifying for postseason soccer this year. Unfortunately, a 23rd-minute screamer from Lions defender Rafael Santos seemed to take the wind out of the team’s sails, and the final scoreline of 3-0 did put something of a dent in New England’s playoff hopes.
But although the Revs may be down, they are by no means out. Sitting at the foot of the Eastern Conference, they are nevertheless only six points behind D.C. United in the crucial 9th-place position, with an important two games in hand over the Capital club as well as at least one more to play than all of the teams between them and United. With every home game now vitally important through the rest of the season, the Revolution will be coming into Wednesday night’s test ravenous for a win over a key rival in the race for qualification.
CF Montréal
12th in Eastern Conference (7-12-9, 30 pts.)
Last Result | 2-1 win vs. Charlotte FC
Wednesday night’s opponent will be familiar for the Revs, who thrashed CF Montréal 5-0 in their trip north of the border less than a month ago. Montréal followed up that performance with a defeat on the road against FC Cincinnati before returning to Stade Saputo and pulling out a key win over Charlotte FC in their own late-season playoff chase.
The last time Montréal was able to string together consecutive league wins was Matchday 4, when they built on a road win over FC Dallas with a major upset of Inter Miami CF in Florida; contrarily, this past Saturday’s win broke the club’s third stretch of at least four winless games this season. You could argue that the Quebecois are due for some mean reversion on Wednesday – or you could argue that they just don’t have a particularly stellar mean to revert to this campaign.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution winger Esmir BajratarevićNew additions and returns from injury have meant increased competition for places in the New England starting XI as of late – certainly not a bad problem to have – and this, combined with the international travel around his first senior appearances for the Bosnia & Herzegovina Men’s National Team, meant that Esmir Bajraktarević only made the bench last time out against Orlando City. The young winger had a stellar international break, assisting none other than his childhood idol Edin Džeko on debut, and he will surely be looking to keep that level of performance going in the league.
Bajraktarević very nearly had a helper just minutes after coming off the bench against the Lions, with a reaction shot from striker Giacomo Vrioni veering just wide of the post. That goal would have made it 2-1 with plenty of time left to play, an important reminder of the impact that the Wisconsin native can have on a game, especially in crucial moments.
Montréal midfielder Caden ClarkStaying on the topic of rising stars in MLS, life in Canada is getting off to a hot start for the American prospect Caden Clark. The attacking midfielder, who made his debut for Montréal against New England last month, recorded his first goal and assist with CFM on Saturday after joining from Minnesota United FC back at the start of August.
Clark not only notched his side’s first goal in the match, but played an instrumental role in creating the initial chance and subsequently keeping it alive: bursting into Charlotte’s box with pace, converting a lofted ball into a first-time shot with accuracy and zip, opting not to stay on the floor after being bundled over, and finally whipping a deflected Josef Martínez shot into the roof of the net from poacher’s range. Simply put, the young man is hungry to get on the scoresheet, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if he does so more than a few times between now and Decision Day.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Revolution head coach Caleb Porter on the team’s quick turnaround from Orlando to Montréal:
“Obviously, we are disappointed in the result against Orlando. I thought we started the match well in the first 20 minutes, and then after conceding the goal, I felt like we didn’t have the effort, the execution, the energy, or I would call it, the right ingredients to do well the rest of the match. That has been talked about, it has been addressed, but we also have to put it behind us and we have to focus on this next game. It is a must-win game the way we look at it. Obviously, mathematically we know it is not, but we are looking at it as a must-win game. It is a home game, and we need to take it one at a time. If we win this game, then that sets up Charlotte on the road [on Saturday] and we are kind of back on track if we get the job done. All our energy needs to go now toward winning this game against Montreal.”
Porter on facing CF Montréal for the second time in a month in the context of the playoff race:
“It is nice to play a team you just played recently. As far as the scout, we can look a lot at the last game [on August 24]. It is fresh in our minds. [CF Montréal] have only played two games since they played us, and we have played three I think. So, there will be some adjustments for sure from their end. They are playing, by and large, a lot of the same guys but there are a few different players in. They are playing [Raheem] Edwards more and a couple new center backs. But the front guys – [Josef] Martínez, Caden Clark, and [Bryce] Duke – have been the same. The two center midfielders [Samuel] Piette and [Nathan] Saliba are the same. It is a game we can look at, a recent game that is fresh in our minds, and it was probably our quickest scout of the year because we could just show clips from that game and talk about what worked. We also reminded them of moments, even though it was 5-0, that they could have scored, so we looked at those things. But for me, the biggest thing is us. It is our mentality. Again, it is making sure that we have 11 guys on the field that are going to work hard and that are going to defend. You have no chance in this league if you don’t have 11 guys that are defending and 11 guys that are united. I don’t care who you are playing. I am very confident that you are going to see a united group of 11 guys working extremely hard to win the game. That is why I feel good about the opportunity to get the result.”
Porter on the likelihood of new midfielder Alhassan Yusuf making the starting lineup:
“We signed [Yusuf] to play, but he is coming off of not training and he only got 20 minutes [at Orlando]. When we start guys, typically we like them to be able to get 45 to 60 [minutes] and he is probably not there yet. We are hoping that he gets a bit more in this game. Obviously, we have to do what is best to win the game, though. Depending on the match state, he may or may not get more minutes. As we continue to train more – he got another three training sessions in, so in Charlotte, he could potentially be closer to starting, but this game is still too soon.”
Revolution midfielder Alhassan Yusuf on how the club has welcomed him to New England:
“I think it’s the best thing as a new guy coming into a team. When you have these guys trying to speak to you, trying to fit you in, that’s the best thing you can get. It starts from the locker room and then off the pitch, and it goes into the pitch as well. That’s the best thing you can get coming into a team.”
Yusuf on what he learned about the level of play in MLS during his debut on Saturday:
“For me, the level is good. It’s really good, from the beginning. I didn’t expect that kind of intensity but when I went into the pitch, I felt it from the beginning. It’s a good level that you can play, you can improve. You never know. You can go anywhere from here, for me.”
Yusuf on how he fits into the team’s style of play:
“Even before coming here, I spoke with the coach. He explained everything to me, the system. I saw some clips already, the games also. That’s exactly my style of play, pressing high, running back within the box, transition. I think that’s my way of playing.”
