FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution have found early success this season as they’ve put together a four-game unbeaten run with only five games under their belt.
Many changes have been implemented under new head coach Brad Friedel, and one of the most dramatic improvements has been on the defensive side of the ball, highlighted most recently by back-to-back clean sheet victories.
“I think the defense is playing pretty well right now,” said Jalil Anibaba who has started the last four games in central defense. “There are things that we need to do better, of course, and I’m a firm believer in the fact that when the defense is playing well, everyone is playing good defense, from the frontline all the way back to the back four and onto the goalkeeper.”
New England have found positives to take away from each match this season. However, understanding team strengths and weaknesses is only half of the battle, and the Revs have more importantly understood how to act on these takeaways to turn them into weekly actionable change.
“We just are committed to defending and committed to our defensive shape, and it’s been really good the past two games,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner. “Obviously we went up against 10 men and it was difficult for us in Houston to still get the clean sheet, but against Montreal it was a different challenge; it was a little easier for us because we kept the ball better.”
While the Revs have achieved a few good early results, they know that the nature of MLS is that anything can happen. However, the Revs’ relentless work ethic, paired with Friedel’s team philosophies, makes for a strong combination that leaves the team with a sense of optimism as they move forward.
“We’ll just keep doing what we have been doing: working hard in training, making sure were preparing for the games and physically being ready for the games,” said Scott Caldwell. “We have to continue to have all 11 guys working behind the ball, working effortlessly defensively, and then turning those chances that we have into good attacks.”
Players and coaches have harped upon a “one-game-at-a-time” mentality, and that’s exactly what the team is doing in preparation for FC Dallas’ arrival. But they also realize a common theme throughout matches this year is their need to pressure teams and play tight defense.
“It’s going to be very important that we close them down, close them down quickly, play very robust defensively, and then when we get the ball, do what we’re good at,” said Friedel. “We have a lot of players that are excellent on the ball, and we’ll try to put as much pressure on Dallas as possible.”
