FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For the first time under Brad Friedel’s leadership the New England Revolution will head north of the border this weekend, when they’ll visit the Montreal Impact on Saturday afternoon.
Kickoff from Stade Saputo is set for 1 p.m., with NBC Sports Boston televising the match and streaming the action live on their web site and mobile app. Brad Feldman will be joined on the call by former Revolution forward and fan favorite Charlie Davies, filling in for the legendary Paul Mariner while he’s in England being honored as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of Ipswich Town’s FA Cup title.
Feldman and Davies will also have the call on 98.5 The Sports Hub, while Portuguese radio listeners can tune into WMVX 1570 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Revolution Postgame Live will begin immediately after the final whistle on NBC Sports Boston.
Those who’d like to watch the match alongside fellow Revolution supporters (and who aren’t traveling to Montreal) can head to the club’s official watch party at Winners Sports Bar & Grill (361 Ferry Street, Everett MA 02149).
Current Form: Revs keep climbing in the East; Impact have dropped four straight
Two weeks ago, after a rare home loss to FC Dallas, Friedel challenged the Revolution to respond, telling his group that the elite teams never lose back-to-back games.
New England (4-2-2, 14 pts.) answered by picking up a valuable road point in a 2-2 draw at Columbus before grinding out a 1-0 win over West leaders Sporting Kansas City last weekend at Gillette Stadium, where Teal Bunbury scored his fourth goal in the last five games, including three game winners.
HIGHLIGHTS: Bunbury stays red hot as Revs pick up gutsy win over Sporting KC
The win pushed the Revs to 4-1-2 in their last seven games, as they’ve continuously found ways to pick up results while still growing into Friedel’s style and system.
“I think what’s helped us a lot early on in the season is we’ve had to figure out how to get results in multiple ways,” said Jalil Anibaba. “On the road, coming back, grinding them out, staying ahead, and killing games off.
“Last weekend’s game was just a matter of doing what we needed to do to get the result.”
Montreal, meanwhile, have struggled to close out games in recent weeks, suffering four straight losses, all by multiple goals. Remi Garde’s side have rarely been played off the park, however – in fact, they led at halftime in both of their last two matches against Los Angeles FC and Atlanta United.
“I know they’ve lost four in a row, but they are a dangerous team,” Friedel said of Montreal. “It won’t be an easy game, and it’s going to be away from home. They’re going to try to stop their losing streak, so to speak, and we’re going to want to try to remain unbeaten in ours, so it should be another entertaining game.”
Past Meetings: Early April win was Revolution’s fifth straight over Impact
New England have won five straight meetings with Montreal, including just four weeks ago at Gillette Stadium, where the Revs rolled to a 4-0 win after Saphir Taider was sent off just 14 minutes into the match.
HIGHLIGHTS: Four different goal scorers lead Revs to comfortable win over Impact
Saturday afternoon’s showdown should present a much different challenge, however, as the Revs expect to face a full-strength Impact squad that features leading scorer Ignacio Piatti, who missed the first meeting last month.
“It’s going to be a completely different game,” said Anibaba. “Obviously we’re playing at their place, so that changes things. We’re expecting to finish out the match 11-v-11, so it’s going to be a completely different test than it was here.
“We’re excited for it. We’re ready for it.”
Injury Report: Rowe back in the mix ahead of trip to Montreal
Kelyn Rowe has missed the past three games with a left knee injury, but the playmaking midfielder has returned to full training and is likely to be available on Saturday afternoon at Stade Saputo.
“Fingers crossed, he’ll be involved with the squad this weekend,” Friedel said of the 26-year-old.
In an odd coincidence Rowe returned from a similar injury last year at Stade Saputo, coming off the bench in the 87th minute to score a dramatic game winner in the Revs’ 3-2 victory. In total Rowe has registered three goals and four assists in his last five appearances against Montreal, including a pair of assists in the 4-0 win on April 6.
Final Thoughts: Agudelo says Revs’ playing style has “been clear since preseason”
“It’s been clear since preseason how we’ve wanted to play and the type of style that we wanted to play,” said Juan Agudelo, who has started the past two games after appearing as a substitute in five straight. “Going into the game, everyone’s confident in knowing that we’re already a couple games into the season, we already know what to do, and we’re out there just to finish the job.”
