Caleb Porter Compliments Players, Staff After Revs' Second Win

Porter: “I thought we got really good individual performances, but it was within the team performance on both sides of the ball."

Photo Courtesy of the New England Revolution

Head coach Caleb Porter complimented his players and coaching staff after the New England Revolution defeated the Chicago Fire 1-0 on Saturday night.

Tomas Chancalay scored the game’s only goal with a powerful shot in the 62nd minute. It was the Argetine’s second goal in as many games.

Defensively, Aljaz Ivacic made two saves—including an out-stretched stunner in the 73rd minute—to earn a shutout. Henry Kessler and Nick Lima also made impressive stops in the Revolution’s second clean sheet performance of the season.

Porter had positive comments for several players after the game.

“I thought Nick Lima had an unbelievable block at the end,” Porter said. “Obviously, Aljaz with a great save on a free kick. Those are plays you have to make to win games.

“And I thought [Xavier] Arreaga and Kessler were men, heading things out, a lot of things that won't show up on the score sheet that they did a lot today to get the clean sheet.

“I thought Matt [Polster] and [Mark-Anthony Kaye] were all over the place. I thought the second half, they kind of ripped the heart out of the opponent, which is what I want. They were tackling and just getting around.

“And what a goal by Tomás [Chancalay]. That's what he can do.

“Listen, I thought we got really good individual performances, but it was within the team performance on both sides of the ball, and we had some guys kind of stand out for the right reasons today on both sides of the ball.

“Carles [Gil], I thought, had an excellent game, and Giacomo [Vrioni], he didn't score but he helped set up the goal with his flick, winning that aerial duel, and those are the little plays you've got to make. People won't see that, but he worked really hard defensively for us today, which helped us win the game.”

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Porter also praised the members of his coaching staff, who each take on a role in preparing the team.

“My assistant, Blair Gavin, he does a great job of finding clips in the first half,” Porter said. “He showed four clips to the team at halftime. We have kind of a rhythm of doing that at halftime, clipping things in the first half and showing guys visuals of it, so that was a real key.

”Then Pablo Moreira, who is also my assistant – probably one of the things that has gotten lost on this year with our results is we are the best defensive team on set pieces in the league, and a big part of that is Pablo’s work. Even late in the game when they're throwing balls in the box, his work on the training ground, his work during the game, making sure we've got the right matchups and all that sorted out. If he's not sorting that out, we lose a mark and we lose the game.

“So, credit to my assistant coaches for the work that they always do. They don't get enough credit.

“And [Kevin Hitchcock] has had a tough year, because he's had three goalkeepers play, and you look at that save that [Aljaz Ivacic] made, that's a lot to do with his work with the goalkeepers.

“And Clint [Peay], Clint works with the back four as well, so really, credit goes to the assistants. I'm the one sitting up here, but they are the guys behind the scenes doing a lot of work.”

Saturday marked the Revolution’s second win of the season and first road victory since May 6, 2023. Of course, there’s still work to do as the Revs remain at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Chicago isn’t the most daunting opponent as they were 2-4-4 heading into the weekend. That said, the Revs will take any points they can, especially against an Eastern Conference foe that’s ahead of them in the standings.

“Yeah, great win,” Porter said. “To come on the road, any win on the road in this league is a great win, especially considering, obviously, the way our results have been going for us. I thought we grew into the game.

“The end of the first half, 20 to 25 minutes, we started to take the game over, get control with the ball, which was key. It gave us confidence, made them defend, and then I thought we continued to play our game in the second half.

“I thought we were the better team. We got a deserved goal after kind of knocking on the door with three or four chances, and I would have liked to see us score the second goal to kind of put it to bed. [We’ve] got to do better there, but great team performance.

“I thought we defended really well and we didn't just sit back. We pressed high, we kept the ball, and I think it was a good evolution for us. We made steps forward in this game outside of the result, which was great. I liked the way we played, and I think a big part of that was the work we did over the last four days in training. So, we'll enjoy this and then get back to work and keep improving.”