FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s a game arc that head coach Caleb Porter thinks is getting stale. Playing at home, the New England Revolution are able to get themselves ahead, whether that be by the halftime whistle or a little later on, and usually seem to be good value for that lead. But, for one reason or another, the team’s mentality starts to wobble from there and, now for the third time running at home in the league, the Revs end up having to settle for a draw.
On Wednesday, it was first-half goals from striker Bobby Wood and winger Esmir Bajraktarević, both from distance, that had New England in control at the break. Midfielder Carles Gil notched an assist on each goal, tying club legend Steve Ralston’s record of 73 regular season helpers with New England as the Spaniard continues to cement his own legacy in the club’s history. But an impressive Tom Pearce strike from a direct free kick put CF Montréal back into the game 10 minutes into the second half, and a Nathan Saliba rocket 20 minutes from time would seal the deal for a final scoreline of 2-2.
“Very disappointing result,” Porter acknowledged after the full-time whistle. “You look at recent home games, for me it’s eerily similar: look at Dallas, we get our noses in front, then we end up somehow conceding in the second half, dropping two points there; St. Louis as well, we get our nose in front there, up 2-1, and somehow concede there, drop two points; and then today. [It was] arguably our best first half of the year in terms of playing aggressive, executing what we wanted to on both sides of the ball, couldn’t have been happier to score the first two goals … Halftime we talked about more of the same – ‘Keep being aggressive, keep pushing for the third goal, keep pressing high, keep attacking.’ And the last thing I told them was, ‘Don’t foul!’ Because all they had in the first half, really, was two or three fouls around our defensive third, which led to set pieces.”
But it was a foul conceded in a dangerous area that began the Revolution’s unravelling, and with the two points dropped at home it’s going to be that much more difficult for New England to make the playoffs. With all of the midweek fixtures around the Eastern Conference wrapped up, the Revs will stay at the foot of the division, but sit only five points away from the Philadelphia Union in the last wild card spot. And Porter still remains fully confident that his team can make the postseason, saying it’s just a matter of making sure they can muster the mental toughness to see it through.
“I know the ingredients it takes, because I’ve had teams that have had it,” the coach said. “And we’re getting closer, we are. But right now, what’s missing is a consistent collective mentality in moments that get hard … We have a good enough team to win this game today, plain and simple.”
He added: “I’m still hoping that we win every game and get into the playoffs. That’s my belief, and that’s what I want to see out of the guys.”
Porter also spoke about the need for leadership among the players and, while he made clear that it was not the duty of the captain alone to provide that leadership, he did lift up Gil as a model for the kind of mentality and consistency he’d like to see out of his entire squad.
“I don’t worry about Carles ever,” Porter said. “He’s had some injuries this year, but he gives everything he has. He gets kicked every game, fights through it. There was a play, and I don’t want to say anything this game, but it looked pretty close to a red. We need more guys like Carles, and we’re building that. For me there’s six, seven guys, I know they’re in the lineup and I know it’s going to be a seven or eight [out of 10] every game. Maybe at worst a six. Some guys, it’s sometimes a seven and sometimes a three, and it could be one game to the next, a seven or a three, flip a coin. That leads to inconsistencies, and ups and downs, and a rollercoaster. And that’s happened this year. When we have our top group healthy, I think we’re getting very close. It doesn’t look like that in the table, but I know it.”
It’s another quick turnaround for the Revolution, as they will travel to face Charlotte FC on Saturday afternoon. Five points with six games to play is not an insurmountable challenge by any means. But if New England is going to make the playoffs, every player from the top of the squad to the bottom is going to need to be locked in for the full 90 minutes. This weekend will be the team’s next chance, and one of the last ones they’ll get, to prove that they have what it takes.
