FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – As the final whistle blew on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium, the New England Revolution’s nail-biting 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls was locked in.
However, this conquest signified more than just a gritty three points.
This victory extended the Revs' winning streak to five games, which is the longest since a six-game streak in 2015. It also secured the club's first-ever 5-0-0 start at home and gave the Revs seven wins on the year (7-1-2) as they continue their reign at No. 1 in the East.
“We’re 5-0 at home,” said head coach Bruce Arena. “I don’t know if we could’ve come close to winning five games at home last year. So, that’s a real positive. There’s no question about it. It’s a real positive. We have one of the better records in the league over the first 10 games. We’re doing fine.”
In fact, the squad’s 23 points are perhaps more than just fine, as the Revs are off to the club’s best-ever start through 10 total matches, topping the 22 points accrued to start the team’s 2005 campaign.
“We’re realistic in understanding that we’re about 30 percent into the season [right now],” said Arena. “There’s a lot of games ahead. We have to get better, but we’re pleased with the progress we’re making. But certainly, as you can see today, there are mistakes being made that we’ve got to get a little bit better, for sure.”
“We’re just working together, working hard in training and it's showing in the games,” said Tajon Buchanan, who opened the scoring for the hosts. “Everyone’s putting in a shift and tonight was a tough game, but we’re all happy to come away with three points."
The Revs' perfect home form is a compete 180 from last year, as the Revs only won two regular season games at Gillette Stadium (2-3-5). The biggest difference between the two seasons is the presence of fans returning to the stands in Foxborough.
“We’re happy to have the fans back,” said DeJuan Jones. "They give us a lot of energy, and it’s a great home-field advantage this year. Last year, we didn’t take advantage of it. To know that we go into these games expecting to win with the fans behind our back, it’s a great feeling and we’re going to carry this momentum forward.”
As the Revs closed out their victory over the Red Bulls, the fans, who returned at full capacity for the first time in almost 500 days, factored into the energy that enabled New England to see the game through.
“Yeah, honestly we felt the fans a lot,” said Carles Gil following his standout three-assist performance. “We are happy to be with them this year. They're a plus for us at home and they helped us win at home and that's important. We felt them with us towards the end. Towards the end of the game in those final minutes, we struggled a little bit, but they helped us get the win.”
The Revs will look to build upon their strongest start in club history next at FC Dallas on Sunday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET.
