FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Three times this year the New England Revolution have returned from their travels with a point in tow, but they’ve yet to return from a single trip with three points in tow.
They’ll have another chance to secure their first road win of the season on Friday night at BMO Field, where they’ll look to take down league-leading Toronto FC for the second time in just three weeks.
The Revs rolled to a 3-0 win over TFC on June 3 at Gillette Stadium, and although the task will be entirely different north of the border, they’re confident that they can replicate that performance with a good start.
“We just can’t concede early,” said Diego Fagundez. “We just have to make sure that we’re back in the fight, try to get up early, and make sure that we can finish every game as hard as we can.”
Finishing games has often been the problem for New England away from home. Three times this year they’ve taken leads into halftime on the road – even stretching that lead to 3-0 in Seattle – but they’re just 0-2-1 in those three games, as second-half breakdowns have robbed them of critical points.
It’s an issue that players and coaches say can be attributed to lapses in concentration.
“We’ve put together some good moments and we’ve come out with some good game plans,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “We just have to make sure that they’re 90 minutes and everyone’s locked in. Every roll of the ball counts and (we need to) make sure that we have that mentality.”
“We’ve been close, but it comes down to mentality and buttoning up some small mistakes that we’ve all been guilty of,” said Chris Tierney. “It’s about that little extra bit of gamesmanship and defending at tough times that get you through and get you results on the road.”
On the flip side, New England have twice scored in the final five minutes to claim draws away from home, including on their last road trip to New York City FC in late May. It represents a positive sign for a team now looking to bounce back from their first home loss in almost 10 months.
“We haven’t gotten that elusive road win yet; it’s a big one,” said Andrew Farrell. “If we can get it against Toronto, it would be a huge, huge, huge momentum booster for our season.”
