Bobby Wood: "We're Focused on Winning"
The striker made his return to the starting XI last Saturday against Charlotte.
Bobby Wood came to the Revolution with a chip on his shoulder. He transferred from Real Salt Lake, where he only scored five goals and two assists over two years. He was motivated to prove that he was still a starter-level striker.
After returning to the starting lineup last weekend against Charlotte, Wood has now started in 19 games, just one match shy of his total start count across two years with Salt Lake. He’s scored seven goals and recorded five assists, helping lead the Revolution to their current spot of third place in the Eastern Conference. With just a few games left before the playoffs begin, Wood says the team is as focused as ever.
“Right now, a lot of guys are coming back from injury,” he said. “I think things have settled after everything that has happened. Us as a group, we’re focused on winning, like I said. Things will continue to get better.”
His start last Saturday certainly wasn’t a perfect one, as Wood acknowledged.
“I should’ve finished two goals but we still got the win. That was a good relief that the team helped me out there.”
“[Wood] put in a good shift and we’re going to need him down the stretch,” added interim coach Clint Peay. “So, it’s good to see him getting his fitness back and contributing.”
As Gustavo Bou returns to the pitch, the Revolution will have ample options for goal scorers. Vrioni has gotten the start for the majority of the last month, but for the first half of the season, New England typically played a strike partnership of Wood and Bou up top. It will be interesting to see if they return to that heading into the playoffs.
For now, the Revolution plays four playoff teams in their last four matches, which should serve as a measuring stick for how far removed they are from the recent plague of injuries and off-the-pitch drama.
“It’s a good challenge for sure,” said Wood. “We can kind of see what we need to improve on. We’ll take it one step at a time and see what happens.”
Need to focus harder on finishing out games. Need to stop slacking the last few minutes and stoppage time and allowing teams to score against you. That's not focused on winning Bobby.