New England Revolution Balancing Improvements with Lack of Results

"We all know that we need to score more goals, because defensively, I think we’ve been pretty good."

Photo Courtesy of New England Revolution

Professional sports are a results-based business. Winning is the prime concern of most fans, players, and coaches.

But sports are also a journey. Fans, coaches, and players traverse the calendar and the country in hopes of finishing as the best team in the league.

Currently, the New England Revolution are stuck between the two streams of thought. While the team is showing signs of improvements, that isn’t translating to wins.

After struggling to find the back of the net, New England was able to find the back of the net in its 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls. The goals might not have come in the run of play but overall a whimpering attack has shown signs of life and ferocity.

Revolution head coach Caleb Porter discussed balancing a lack of results with improvements in the quality of play on Thursday.

“We want to win everything we do, otherwise we are not where we are at,” Porter said. “So if anything, it is just making sure that when they [players] don’t win, they don’t get frustrated to the point where they lose energy and stop doing the good things they have done in the last two games. It has been much better in the last two games in terms of the balance and in terms of the chance creation. You cannot say in those two games that we are not creating enough chances, we are not working hard, and we are not organized. If you are saying that, you are not watching the same game I am. But in saying that, we did not win the last game. Ultimately, the bottom line is we did not get a result. The last two games, we are on the right track, but I still think that we can step up in moments, finish plays better, I said it earlier in the week but have more killer instinct in the boxes, and I still think we can find a few more wrinkles, a few adjustments, that will help us make that breakthrough and push us over the top.”

One aspect of New England’s game that has been a constant bright spot has been the backline and overall defending. Aljaz Ivacic has done a quality job in net, and center backs Brayan Ceballos and Mamadou Fofana have adjusted to life in Major League Soccer quite well.

Ivacic noted that it is a difficult time for the team but they are hoping that their attacking luck will begin to turn against Atlanta.

“Yeah, it’s a difficult moment right now,” the goalkeeper said. “As we all know, six games in and we [haven’t scored] many goals, and that’s what it’s all about. If you want to win games and be the best, you need to score goals. So, we need to do better, it’s not a secret. We all know that we need to score more goals, because defensively, I think we’ve been pretty good. Now, it’s just about scoring and hopefully we’ll do that in the next game [at Atlanta on Saturday].”

While improvement is important, at some point, style of play is besides the point. The Revolution need to start winning games or else 2025 could become the second straight season that the club misses the playoffs.

With the roster New England has, that should not be happening. If history repeats itself in 2025, changes need to be made.