Porter Credits Players After Revs Second Consecutive Win
“As a whole, the players are in the arena. They're the ones that deserve the credit for this turnaround in the last four games."
Head coach Caleb Porter acknowledged the players after the New England Revolution won three of their last four games.
While the Revs' defense has looked strong all season, allowing seven goals in eight games, the offense has struggled. The club had just one point through their first four outings, and the opponent scored their only goal.
Things have improved since then, as the Revolution have nine points and five goals in four games. On Saturday, they got their first goal in the run of play.
The 2-0 win over New York City FC was the Revs’ first multi-goal win since August 24, 2024. It was also the first time they’ve collected consecutive wins since June 2024.
“As a whole, the players are in the arena,” Porter said. “They're the ones that deserve the credit for this turnaround in the last four games. We've been right there, but in the end, I asked for and I challenged them for more. And in the last four games, they gave more and that's what's turned it.
“We can make it into the [switch to the 3-5-2] system, and maybe that helps a little bit, but it's just the investment that they put in.”
Porter specifically highlighted the members of his leadership council, including Carles Gil, Aljaz Ivacic, and Matt Polster.
All three have been immense in recent weeks. Gil has three goals and one assist this year, while Ivacic has three clean sheets. His performance against Atlanta United was particularly noteworthy.
Polster missed the first part of the season due to injury, but has looked solid since re-joining the starting lineup.
“These guys have delivered over the last four games,” Porter said. “When we were struggling and we didn’t have our first win I sat with those three guys and said ‘Listen guys, you have to set the tone, the team is going to go in the direction you go in, and it starts with your performances.’ And none of those three guys were playing well enough, well actually Matt wasn’t in yet, and in the last four games all three of those guys delivered and performed extremely well. Their leadership has been a big key for us.”
Gil noted that the Revs have a young team. As such, the experienced players must step in and provide support, especially during challenging moments.
Polster provided a glimpse into the conversations happening within the council.
“I think you just all want to be on the same page and understand what people are thinking and be as aligned as possible, and try to move in the same direction,” Polster said. “It’s important to give our views on what we think we can do differently, and obviously for the coach, Caleb, to do the same to us and try to motivate us and push us to push the group.”
While the Revs have looked better in recent weeks, they’re still two points below the playoff line with a game in hand.
They also face a daunting schedule with six of their next seven league games on the road.
“We’re in the race now,” Porter said. “We’re in the hunt, and yet, we have to stay hungry. We’ve got to keep fighting. We’re nowhere near where we need to be; it was a slow start, but we’re making progress. I said we just need time and I think that’s rung true.”
Happy for the players. Good to see Porter praising players instead of throwing them under the bus. He does need to get Langoni playing a lot more minutes and not being a bench warmer.
Praise where praise is due. Guys you expect to step up are stepping up. But not seeing Feingold's name mentioned enough. That kid is brass-balls ferocious and covers the whole length of the pitch end-to-end, and then some.