While it wasn’t the result he desired, Saturday’s performance by the New England Revolution was closer to what head coach Caleb Porter wants from his team.
The game against New York City FC was scoreless through 81 minutes before Keaton Parks offered a powerful header to seal three points for the visitors. The Revs are now 2-10-1 on the season.
They did exhibit some solid build-up play on Saturday and outshot their opponent 17 to 14 (8 to 4 on target), according to the official MLS stats.
“I thought we played well enough today to get a result in the game,” Porter said. “That's my assessment of the game. I thought we would win. At 0-0, we're pushing, we're in great spots to score, we still don’t find the goal.
“We have got to keep going, because there are a lot of positives when you look at the play today, and I know people don't want to hear that, but that's the reality.
“It's too bad we don't find the goal, because we were in great spots time and time and time and time again today. So, we have to look at those moments, and then we can't concede.”
Seth Macomber
The Revs’ efforts were aided by the return of DeJuan Jones, who played 90 minutes in his first start since Apr. 13. Dylan Borrero was in front of him from the opening kick for the first time this year.
Having two dynamic players on the same side enhanced the Revolution’s attack.
“It is starting to look more and more like the team I envisioned,” Porter said. “It’s too bad that it’s 13 games in and our record is what it is, but it’s coming. It’s coming and we’re going to keep going.
“These guys are going to keep fighting and we’re going to keep working. It really helped to have a couple athletic guys on the field that could stretch and could play more vertical. You see with Dylan and his quality, it’s evident. I thought we played well today against a very good team. It’s just disappointing we didn’t find the goal.”
Tomas Chancalay started opposite of Borrero for the first time in 2024. The two midfielders only had 50 minutes together before Saturday.
They got ten minutes together against NYCFC before Chancalay went to the ground with an injury. He was replaced by Esmir Bajraktarevic.
Porter didn’t have much of an update after the game.
“[Chancalay] had to come out of the game,” Porter said. “I don't know what it is, something with his knee. I don't think it's too bad. But yeah, we would never take him out unless he had to come out.”
Mark-Anthony Kaye noted that he has seen recent growth in how the team is performing. But like Porter, Kaye wants to see more scoring from the Revolution.
“We’ve been building well over the last couple of weeks,” Kaye said. “It really started with the game in Chicago, with the way we built out with the press. To be honest, we’re playing better, but we need to figure out ways to score goals, because we can’t win games if we don’t score. So, that’s the frustrating part.
“But yes, we’re playing much better and the team feels it. There’s a sense of confidence on the field when we’re in possession, when we’re not in possession. We feel like we dominate more time in the games, but we need to figure out ways to score.”
The Revs have collected nine goals through 13 games, the lowest count in the league.
With this in mind, Porter was asked if the team is looking to add attackers during the secondary transfer window, which opens Jul. 18.
“We’re going to make some additions, for sure, in the summer transfer window,” Porter said. “I won’t disclose exactly the positions, but we have got a plan. [Sporting Director] Curt [Onalfo], myself, [Technical Director] Remi [Roy], and [Assistant Sporting Director] Chris Tierney, we have a plan for the summer window.
“We know the positions we’re looking to sign, the players – we even have targets already. We have a plan for every window, the next several windows, but it’s my job to still win until we get some reinforcements.”
