Revolution's Task On Wednesday Is Clear: Win
Revolution's Task On Wednesday Is Clear: Win
Bruce Arena: "We're still in the competition. We have to win Wednesday. Our mission is clear."
The New England Revolution are looking for a win on Wednesday after only collecting a point against the New York Red Bulls in their first Leagues Cup game.
Saturday’s match went to penalties after a scoreless 90 minutes. Despite Djordje Petrovic stopping the Red Bulls’ first attempt, the Revs were bested 4-2. This gave the Red Bulls two points.
The result creates an obvious assignment for the Revolution, who now prepare to host San Luis in a midweek affair.
“We're still in the competition,” Arena said. “We have to win Wednesday. Our mission is clear. We have to win Wednesday. The other teams don't have to win their second game, so that's a little bit different, for sure. So, we have to go out and win Wednesday.”
Arena described Saturday’s game as a “grind,” noting there “was going to be a lot of contact.”
The match had three opportunities for the Video Assistant Referee to intervene, including fouls on Gustavo Bou and DeJuan Jones, as well as a possible handling offense in the box.
In the end, no red cards or penalties were given.
“This was a very confusing game for penalties in my view,” Arena said when asked if the non-decisions were legit. “Whether anything was ‘legit’, not legit, I don't even know. I don't know what they saw in VAR.
“The one handball called looked like it could have been. They took so long, I didn't understand why it wasn't given after they looked, but I can’t honestly tell you that I thought it was a penalty ... I didn't see it that clearly.”
Arena offered some praise after the game, noting that Petrovic “made a real good save in regulation” in addition to the PK stop he had. He also said Carles Gil “was good for us” while Mark-Anthony Kaye and Ian Harkes “played well in the midfield.”
Arena remarked that Andrew Farrell and Dave Romney “did a good job” and Gustavo Bou had “a good second half.”
One player who was unavailable on Wednesday was Matt Polster, who missed the game for an unknown reason. When asked, Arena didn’t give an update on the midfielder’s status.
The Revs did welcome back Noel Buck who missed five games due to injury.
“It feels great, actually,” Buck said about his return. “I’ve been really looking forward to this moment. I’ve been working hard in training, working hard in rehab. It’s all led to this moment and I feel good.”
With a second game just a few days away, it’s possible that Arena could switch up the starting lineup when San Luis comes to town. That decision will be made in the coming days.
“Our guys have played three games in a week with some rotation, and I anticipate we'll probably do some, but I can't tell you,” Arena said. “We have to wait and see how the players recover. We have certainly enough time to get guys recovered to play on Wednesday.”
Regardless of who takes the field on Wednesday, the task is clear.
“We have to play to win, so it's that simple,” Arena said.