Revolution Have "Mixed Feelings" After Scoreless Draw Against Nashville
Porter: “It’s interesting, because this group has very high standards, and I would say that the way they feel right now is not satisfied, which I love."
A clean sheet on the road is typically a good result in Major League Soccer, but the New England Revolution weren’t satisfied after Saturday’s scoreless draw against Nashville SC.
Last year, the Revs only had four ties and five clean sheets. They did not shut out an opponent until game six, but by then, they had conceded 11 goals.
This, combined with the fact that the Revs started four players making their MLS debuts and two more making their club debuts, should leave them feeling good about the season opener.
But that wasn’t the case, according to head coach Caleb Porter.
“It’s interesting, because this group has very high standards, and I would say that the way they feel right now is not satisfied, which I love,” Porter said. “That’s what you want. You want a team that wants to win every game. But I think they also know that when you come on the road and you don’t find a goal, that you will take a draw.”
Porter highlighted the team’s defensive performance, saying, “I love that we’re building from a strong defensive foundation.” He added that Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge are “a handful.”
“I thought the two central defenders [Mamadou Fofana and Brayan Ceballos] were excellent, and I thought Aljaz [Ivacic] had a great game, too. He had a couple of little saves that he needed to make,” Porter said.
“I thought the entire back four was solid, the two midfielders, and I thought Carles [Gil] had a good game. He maybe didn’t get as many shots as he would have liked, but he was lively. I don’t think anybody had a bad game today.”
Of course, there is work to be done on the attacking end since the Revs only generated two shots on target.
In the 24th minute, Ignatius Ganago marched forward and fired a powerful shot that was tipped over the bar.
In the 36th minute, Campana, who worked hard defensively, had his close-range effort saved.
Porter believes that the attack just needs more time.
“Our attack will come,” Porter said. “We’ve got players that will score goals, and always, it’s easier to destroy than create. Early in the year, again, you want to have a strong foundation to build from defensively, which we’re building, and that confidence defensively. I’m not worried about the goals; that will come.”
Ivacic, who recorded three saves in a game in which Nashville had an xG of 1.11, also expressed mixed feelings regarding Saturday’s result.
When asked, the goalkeeper said that this team’s mentality is “different” from last year’s.
“We had kind of mixed feelings after the game,” Ivacic said. “It’s good we had a clean sheet and a great defensive performance, but yeah, obviously, we want to win every game. But also, we played on the road [and] Nashville is a pretty good team, so as I said, mixed feelings.”
The Revolution will now return home to host the Columbus Crew on Saturday, March 1. This is another opportunity to showcase the potential of the 2025 team.
“I think the attackers will be disappointed not to score [against Nashville], but that’s good,” Porter said. “I love that going into next week, because the backs are feeling good and we have to play Columbus, who has been one of the best attacking teams in the league. So, it’s nice that our back four is confident and it’s nice that our attackers are a little ticked off and they want to score next week.”