The New England Revolution are preparing for the second half of the season after taking a break for the FIFA World Cup.
The Revs had a strong start under new head coach Marko Mitrovic, going 8-5-1. Their best stretch featured a seven-game unbeaten run in league play (6-0-1). They’ve been nearly flawless at home, only losing once at Gillette Stadium (7-1-0).
Currently fourth in the Eastern Conference, the Revolution are looking to build on early success.
Jackson Yueill said that Mitrovic’s message is simple: “Get better.”
“We want to create more goal-scoring chances through the run of play, and so we've been working a lot on our attacking aspects,” Yueill said. “And then defensive, I think we're solid, and we always want to improve.”
One of the best teams on attacking set pieces (seven goals scored, according to FotMob), the Revs had 12 goals from the run of play. Their 18 goals allowed make them the third-stingiest defense in the East.
But the second half of the season will present new challenges.
The first stanza had eight home games and six away games. This will now be flipped, with nine home games and 11 away games.
Their road form (1-4-1) is something they want to address going forward.
"Toward the end of this first half, we started to get better, and we want to build on that," Yueill said.
The Revs resume league play on July 22, hosting Toronto FC in a midweek affair. They will play a slate of closed-door friendlies, including recent matches against Red Bull New York and D.C. United, to prepare.
“[Mitrovic’s] message is keep the intensity, keep the consistency, keep the commitment, and let's see if we can get better, maintain our position and see how far we can climb up in the second half of the year,” Yueill said.
