NEW YORK – The New England Revolution picked up their third point of the season on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, but they’re still in search of their first three points of the campaign.
Chris Tierney’s 38th-minute free kick cancelled out Tommy McNamara’s 10th-minute opener as the Revs battled New York City FC to a 1-1 draw, the Revolution’s third draw through four games in 2016. They also picked up a single point in Houston (3-3 draw) and at home against D.C. United (0-0 draw).
New England certainly had their opportunities to secure a first victory on Saturday, as they created a series of quality chances both before and after Gershon Koffie was sent off early in the second half, reducing the Revolution to 10 men for the final 39 minutes.
“It’s not about how the team is approaching the game, it’s not about how we’re preparing for the game; it’s all about execution right now,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “It’s cliché, but it’s the final ball. It’s the final piece of the puzzle, the product to score the goal. Someone’s got to make the play.
“We were close, but didn’t deliver. We had two or three clear chances in the first half. I thought it we’d been a little cleaner, it would’ve been a different game before the red card.”
Notable chances fell to Teal Bunbury, who shot high when clean through in the first half, and Charlie Davies, who rounded NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders in the late stages only to see his tight-angle shot cleared off the line by Federico Bravo.
While the chances aren’t falling for the Revolution at the moment – Tierney’s deflected goal was New England’s first since potting three in the opener against Houston – they’re confident that chances will eventually turn to goals as sharpness continues to develop.
“I’ll back those guys all day to score those chances,” said Tierney. “Those guys will score those. We just need some time to get our confidence back. We’ll get results and get rolling and I think you’ll see those flying in. We created enough chances today to win the game, so that’s all we can really take from it. The final product will come.”
Although frustrated by their inability to find a winner the Revs were encouraged by elements of their performance, particularly their confidence to boss much of the match even while down a man.
“When I came into the game we were down a man, but we certainly didn’t play like we were down a man,” said Davies, making his first appearance since the birth of his twin sons last week. “We were very smart tactically and we still played attacking football.”
“I thought after (the red) that we responded really well,” added Tierney. “I thought that we had the better chances in the game and we could’ve snuck it. You’ve got to be proud of the way we responded today and although we would’ve liked to take three points, I think overall there’s a lot of good to take from this performance.”
Heaps twice mentioned in his postgame comments his disappointment with not picking up three points in the Revolution’s only home game, a 0-0 draw with D.C. Now the Revs will have a pair of chances to win at home, with upcoming games at Gillette Stadium against the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC.
“That win is coming soon,” said Davies. “When we do get those three points, I think the monkey will be off our back and we can kind of settle and continue to move forward as a team.”
