FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution went into Tuesday night’s game knowing that only a multiple-goal loss would have kept them out of the Round of 32 of Leagues Cup 2024. The knowledge of how likely they were to advance going into the game could have seemed comforting from afar, but upon closer inspection would prove to be dangerous if held too tightly, a false sense of security that could have made the team vulnerable to a struggling but hungry Nashville SC side eager to right the ship under their new coach.
Instead, the team took their favorable tournament scenario as motivation to see out the job they had in front of them – and finishing the job is exactly what they went and did. Bobby Wood’s goal right out of the blocks may have been cancelled just before halftime by Sam Surridge’s point-blank strike, but a resilient team performance in the second period preserved New England’s position atop their East 5 group, and victory in the ensuing penalty shootout, helped along by a crucial Aljaž Ivačič save, was just the icing on the cake.
Head coach Caleb Porter said after the game that, while it was by no means perfect, he was pleased with his team’s performance, particularly in the context of the ongoing injury predicament they’ve faced in recent weeks.
“I think with as many guys as we have out, I'm proud of the effort, I'm proud of the fight,” he said. “I'm proud of, really, the last three games overall. Certainly, there are things that I mentioned to the guys, areas we need to improve in. I thought after we scored the goal, our buildup wasn't good. We looked to keep the ball, [we] went backwards all the time. We didn't break lines quick enough. We didn't advance the ball up the field enough after we scored the goal. Obviously, we conceded a goal. We were up the field, it's a clearance; it's not a great goal. So, those are certainly things that I wasn't happy with that we need to clean up.
“I did like our composure in the second half. The subs actually – we don't have much, but I thought the guys came in and did what they needed to. Tommy [McNamara] gave us rhythm. Ema [Boateng] gave us a little bit of juice, which we had been missing in the game. Even Will [Sands] made a couple little plays defensively, and Malcolm [Fry] comes in and runs around and gets a foul. Those are little things that help. We defended set pieces really well today. I think we had like 16 we defended. So, those are all moments that I'm real pleased with. Then overall, our mentality to ride the game out, get the point, and then obviously in the penalties, get another point.”
Porter went on to highlight Wood’s goal, assisted by Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou in his return to the starting lineup, holding it up as a model for how he would like to see the team play all the time.
“It's a great goal,” he said. “That goal is a great team goal. It's like seven, eight passes, five, six guys involved, everything is one- or two-touch. It's great to see out of a group that has a lot of guys that haven't played quite as much this year, and so I'm really pleased with that first goal. I told the guys, that should give them the idea of how we need to play every second of every game.”
For his own part, Wood was happy to have gotten on the scoresheet, officially opening his account for 2024, particularly after an own goal call kept him from claiming that status a few weeks sooner.
“It feels good,” he said. “I think we worked hard as a team to get goals in. I’m glad I got my goal, and that they didn’t take it away.”
Tuesday night’s shootout win will certainly serve as a high note for the Revolution, but their advancement to the knockout stage is perhaps soured a bit by how little time they will have to prepare for their next match; New York City FC will be coming up to Gillette Stadium to face New England on Friday night, and further rounds would come with similarly quick turnarounds. Porter simply acknowledged the reality of the situation, saying he and the team would, like always, do the best they could to prepare for what’s coming next.
“Yeah, it is what it is,” Porter said with an ironic laugh. “How am I feeling? We've got to come in tomorrow and we've got to recover and go again. That's what this tournament is about. It's a game every three days and it's not changing. If we advance on Friday, it's three days later. So, it's definitely a difficult tournament in that regard and we don't have a ton of depth, but the further we go along, we might end up getting a few guys back actually, which definitely helps our chances when we start playing these Mexican teams, as well. Obviously, New York City is a really good team with a lot of talent, so it'll be the most difficult opponent we've played in this tournament to date.”
Wood agreed that the schedule was tight, but felt confident that he and his teammates were up to the task.
“It’s a quick turnaround,” he said, “but it will be alright. We have to do everything we can to get back and Friday we’ll go again.”
