FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution, unbeaten in the past two months, goes in search of a third straight home win on Saturday night when Eastern Conference foe Toronto FC visits Gillette Stadium.
Kickoff between the second-place Revs (5-2-3, 18 pts.) and fifth-place TFC (3-5-0, 9 pts.) is set for 7:30 p.m., with local coverage available on Comcast SportsNet and 98.5 The Sports Hub. Radio listeners can also catch the call in Portuguese on WMVX 1570 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Stay tuned to CSNNE after the game for Revolution Postgame Live with Dalen Cuff and Khano Smith.
Current Form: Unbeaten run reaches eight, but Revs frustrated by late lapse in Orlando
A fourth consecutive victory appeared on the cards for the Revolution last weekend at the Citrus Bowl, but the 2-0 lead established by Charlie Davies (goals in four straight) and Kelyn Rowe (on his 100th appearance) evaporated in the late stages as the Revs conceded a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes and settled for a 2-2 draw.
WATCH: Revs forced to settle for a point after Orlando erases two-goal deficit
The result did officially extend New England’s league-best unbeaten run to eight games (5-0-3), but they returned to Foxborough knowing there are still improvements to be made with the summer months approaching.
“We’re going to have a couple conversations about what we need to do better in that game,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “It was some of our best stuff and some of our worst stuff all in one.
“I liked the way we started the game and I liked the way we were very proactive in the game to go up 2-0, but unfortunately we just did not finish that last 30 minutes really well.”
Toronto FC began the season with a brutal stretch of seven straight road games, racking up a respectable 3-4-0 record while renovations were completed at BMO Field. Greg Vanney’s side finally returned home last weekend and got a team-leading fifth goal from Jozy Altidore, but was left frustrated in a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo.
Altidore was on the board again midweek – along with Benoit Cheyrou and Sebastian Giovinco – in a 3-2 win over the Montreal Impact in the second leg of an Amway Canadian Championship series, but the Impact’s 1-0 win in the first leg was enough to send Montreal through on away goals.
Past Meetings: Revs went three-for-three in season sweep over TFC in 2014
After securing just two wins over TFC in a 12-game stretch between 2008 and 2013 the Revs turned the tables in a big way last season, sweeping the three-game season series while outscoring the Canadian side 6-1.
Two of those wins came north of the border at BMO Field, while the only meeting at Gillette Stadium was a 1-0 New England triumph in the regular-season finale last October. That win improved the Revolution’s all-time home record against Toronto to 6-2-2, although both of those losses have come since 2012.
Recent meetings between the Revs and TFC in Foxborough have been low-scoring affairs, with a total of just five goals scored in the last five matchups at Gillette Stadium.
Injury Report: Goncalves working to overcome nagging calf injury
After making an abbreviated return with a late substitute appearance against the New York Red Bulls two weeks ago, Jose Goncalves was sidelined once again for last weekend’s trip to Orlando as the center back continues to battle a lingering left calf injury.
Goncalves isn’t listed on the official injury report ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Toronto and there’s hope he could be fit and ready for action, but if that’s not the case, Heaps would be more than comfortable using Jermaine Jones in central defense for a fifth straight game.
“I think that he doesn’t get enough credit for [his versatility],” Heaps said of Jones. “I think that’s really important as a coach because now we’ve missed Jose – he’s been out – and we’ve been able to transition quickly. Where we have some depth is in the middle, so Jermaine slides back to center back.
“To me, he’s one of the better passing center backs in the league. But he’s also a great midfielder. So it’s great to have those types of options and be able to game plan based upon where we think we’re going to need him most.”
Final Thoughts: Davies says Revs need to “attack, attack, attack” on Saturday night
“They’re a team that’s dangerous,” Davies said of TFC. “If we can stop them, I think we shouldn’t have a problem stopping any team, because they’re a team that can score goals in a variety of different ways.
“It’s important that we come out on top. I think if we can attack, attack, attack on Saturday, it’s only going to benefit us in the long run.”
