New England Revolution Face Another Test Against Columbus Crew
"We’ll keep the knife between our teeth and keep pushing, keep improving in training, and keep working hard."
The New England Revolution are one of the hottest teams in MLS at the moment but have yet another test on the horizon.
New England is on a four-game winning streak that has seen the club beat the likes of the New York Red Bulls, Vancouver Whitecaps, and most recently FC Cincinnati.
While confidence is high for the team, head coach Caleb Porter wants the Revolution to remain hungry as they search for more victories.
“That part is easy right now because the group feels good,” Porter said of the group’s confidence during its recent run of wins. “We’ve won four in a row. I think it’s more about staying hungry than anything. We’ll keep the knife between our teeth and keep pushing, keep improving in training, and keep working hard. Obviously, it helps too when you’re playing a really good team. The guys didn’t need any motivation going into Cincinnati. They knew we were playing a very good team that we had to play well against. The same goes for Columbus. Obviously, the MLS Cup champions last year with a lot of quality. They’re coming off a 4-0 shellacking [of Kansas City] and they are a very difficult team to play. I think it’s another game where hopefully we can show that we are good enough to beat a team like Columbus.”
As Porter mentioned, Wilfrid Nancy’s Crew won the MLS Cup last season and are still one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The reigning champs currently sit in fifth place and are led by Cucho Hernandez who is fresh of a hat trick in the match against Sporting Kansas City.
New England’s head coach heaped praise on Nancy stating that he took the Crew to another level and describing the Frenchman as one of the best coaches in the league.
“This team were the MLS Cup champs last year for a reason,” Porter said. They were one game away from winning the [2024] Concacaf Champions Cup. They have some of the best players in the league on their team. They have probably the best striker in the league in Cucho Hernandez. Darlington Nagbe has been the best midfielder in this league for the last decade. They have very good players, whom I know very well, and Wilfried Nancy is one of the best coaches in the league. I’m proud of my time there, but he has taken it to another level. So, it is a very difficult test but I think our guys are up for it. We’re going to give everything we have to get another win.”
Even at home, securing three points against the Crew would be impressive. New England would continue its climb up the standings and start to chip away at any remaining doubters.
A season that seemed dead in the water, has been raised from the grave. A win against Columbus would once again prove that the Revolution have been reborn and are ready to be contenders in the Eastern Conference once again.