FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Mired in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-8-2 record on May 8, not many people gave the New England Revolution a shot at reaching the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
Including the man they named sporting director and head coach shortly thereafter, Bruce Arena.
“I think we had a 99 percent chance of not making the playoffs,” Arena said.
But in the spirit of Lloyd Christmas – “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!” – the Revs made good on that slim one percent in their home finale on Sunday night, completing one of the more remarkable midseason turnarounds in MLS history with a 2-0 win over East-leading New York City FC to book a return to the postseason for the first time since 2015.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner, who made six saves to keep his fifth clean sheet of the year. “It’s definitely been a really long season, but there’s been a belief in this group amongst us for the entirety of it, from when were in last place in May until now.”
“The past four months have been pretty wild, pretty crazy,” said Teal Bunbury, who scored the game winner on Sunday night, putting the finishing touch on a scintillating counterattack in the 66th minute. “There’s been a lot of adversity, a lot of guys just sticking with it, coming into training, working hard.
“Right now I’m just super excited, super happy with everybody, you know – the fans, the organization. Everybody stuck around, stuck with us, and it’s fun and an exciting moment right now.”
It was a fun and exciting night at Gillette Stadium, as Bunbury’s opener brought the crowd of 28,602 to their feet before Gustavo Bou’s playoff-clinching chip in the closing minutes sent them into a frenzy.
Other results around the East fell the Revolution’s way, as well – in fact a draw would’ve been enough to seal a postseason spot on Sunday night – but the players felt it was critical that they punch their ticket on their own terms, with a win in front of their hometown fans.
“Everyone in the stands was going crazy, and it was just one of those euphoric moments,” Turner said of seeing Bou’s chip hit the back of the net. “I never would’ve pictured it back in May. It’s tough to describe. Once we went up (2-0), I knew for sure it was going to be enough.”
Two goals were enough on Sunday night, but for the players, simply clinching a playoff spot isn’t enough. What they’ve accomplished this season is already remarkable, but having gone 9-2-10 in the 21 games since making a managerial change in mid-May, they’re confident they can compete with anyone.
They’ll have the chance to prove that in next weekend’s regular-season finale on the road against defending champion Atlanta United FC, and then again in the first round of the playoffs, when they’ll visit either Atlanta or the Philadelphia Union, depending on next weekend’s results.
“By no means do I think this is mission accomplished for us,” Bou said via interpreter. “[The playoffs] was our primary objective since the beginning of the season, but I think we’re not done.”
