Caleb Porter And Maxi Urruti Provide Messages To Revs Fans

"Keep the faith."

Head coach Caleb Porter asked New England Revolution fans “to keep the faith” after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union.

The Revs are winless and goalless through three games: A scoreless road draw against Nashville SC was followed by a 1-0 loss to the Columbus Crew and a 2-0 loss to the Union, both at home.

All three outings were tight, as the Revs held Nashville to an xG of .94, Columbus to .37, and Philadelphia to 1.08. The Crew’s goal came in the 51st minute while the Union scored in the 76th and 97th.

Porter was asked if he had a message to fans after Saturday’s game.

“Just keep the faith,” Porter said. “It's a long season. We've only played three games. It's a new group.

“I think we're competitive, as you've seen in every game. The last two games were good teams – very good teams. So obviously, we lost two games to very good teams. I still think we're defending really well. That gives me great hope.

“I'm like you and everybody else, I want to see more goals, so we got to keep working at it. But keep the faith. It's a long season.”

The Revolution's lack of scoring has been a major storyline this year. The Revs are the only team without a goal through three games, though St. Louis, who plays Sunday, has yet to find the back of the net.

The Revs were close on a couple of occasions against the Union. The first came when Carles Gil slipped Ignatius Ganago, who played a centering ball to Leo Campana. The shot went wide as the striker signaled for a sub.

In the 18th minute, Carles Gil's curling attempt narrowly missed the target.

Maxi Urruti, who entered for the injured Campana, was also asked if he had a message for fans.

“It’s a difficult situation because we need points,” Urruti said. “We know the year is long. The season just started, but we haven’t had many chances to score. We know the fans come here to the stadium to [see us] score. We have their support. We need more power for our games, and we understand the situation.”

Porter recognized the situation, noting the results haven’t been good enough. He also believes the team is nearing a breakthrough.

“I thought we got in a lot better spots this game to score and create,” Porter said. “I don't think we did well enough in those spots, so we have to continue to work on that and I have to continue to do a better job of, obviously, getting these guys to score goals. There's no doubt.

“But I think we're a lot closer than it might seem with the results. We've played three really good teams, and at the end of the day, we got one draw. It's not good enough, the results, but as I told the guys, it's a long season, and we're a lot closer than it seems, and we're in every game. We're right there.

“Obviously, the story will be we haven't scored and we haven't won, but we have to keep the right perspective and keep working. We’ve got 31 games left.”

The Revs face a tough road ahead, as they play six of their next eight on the road. While the Revs only have one point to start the season, Porter remains optimistic about his squad.

“I felt like our guys fought really hard,” Porter said. “Obviously, we gave up a goal and ended up losing the game, 2-0. But I objectively thought we did all the things I wanted them to do in terms of fight, in terms of first and second balls, in terms of all the dirty little things you have to do against Philadelphia to be in the game. I thought the guys did them.

“[Brayan] Ceballos, he was an animal. I thought [Mamadou] Fofana, all these guys- that’s the disappointment. I believe in this team a lot. It’s just a much- I know we haven’t gotten results in these first three games like we want, but it’s just a much different feeling for me. I believe in these guys and I know that we can do it. I think that’s the key.”