Depth Proving To Be A Strength For The Revs in 2023
Andrew Farrell: “I think we have confidence in everybody and in every player on our team.”
The idea of losing three starters was daunting last year.
This year, the New England Revolution put in a solid road performance against a good Eastern Conference team without Gustavo Bou (5 starts), Bobby Wood (6 starts), and Henry Kessler (7 starts).
The Revs tied the Columbus Crew 1-1 on Saturday after conceding a late set piece goal while being down a man since the 65th minute.
On Tuesday, head coach Bruce Arena reflected on the outing, saying it was a “good game,” adding, “If we concentrated another 20 or 30 seconds we’d have three points.”
Giacomo Vrioni and Esmir Bajraktarevic got their second starts of the season against the Crew while Andrew Farrell got his first.
“I think we have confidence in everybody and in every player on our team,” Andrew Farrell explained. “The coaching staff, the GM, and everyone in the front office has done a good job of bringing in players that can help us win games.”
One player that was acquired during the off-season was Dave Romney. The center back has played every minute this year, first partnering with Kessler then with Farrell.
Farrell has been impressed with the 29-year-old, who has been in MLS since 2015.
“He has been great this season, as everybody can tell,” Farrell said. “He’s been solid and hardly makes any mistakes. He doesn’t put a foot wrong. I think he’s been a great addition to our team and within the locker room. He’s a great guy and also a really, really good player.”
On the opposite end of the field, the Revs have several options at striker. Jozy Altidore, who is competing with Wood, Bou, and Vrioni, sees this depth as a strength.
“I think we have a group where when the big games start coming down the road we have enough variety and enough different pieces where we can unlock any team,” Altidore remarked. “I mean, that’s the idea when you add so much depth. Hopefully we continue to gel, continue to train hard, get to know each other, and keep improving.”
Arena is happy with the start to the season but isn’t ready to make any definitive statements about his team. He noted that we’ll have a better understanding of the team’s depth as the season goes on.
It looks as though the Revs’ depth will be tested again this weekend as a number of key pieces are included on the latest availability report.
The report lists the following players as out: Dylan Borrero (suspended), Nacho Gil (right leg), Jacob Jackson (left ACL), Henry Kessler (right leg), Maciel (left Achilles), and Tommy McNamara (left leg). Bobby Wood (left foot) and Gustavo Bou (right leg) are questionable.
The Revs will lean on each other as they look to get a result against a struggling Sporting KC team.
“Anybody can step in and be called upon to play important minutes in the season,” Farrell noted. “We trust everybody in the locker room and hopefully when we keep on getting guys back we’re just a deeper team.”