FOXBOROUGH, Mass – A playoff rematch is set for Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, where the New England Revolution will host Columbus Crew SC for the first time since the sides battled in last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.
TICKETS: Choose your seats for Revs-Crew SC!
Kickoff between the Revs (2-2-1, 7 pts.) and Crew SC (1-2-1, 4 pts.) is set for 3 p.m., with local coverage available on Comcast SportsNet and 98.5 The Sports Hub. Portuguese radio listeners can catch the call on WMVX 1570 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Stay tuned to CSNNE after the game for Revolution Postgame Live with Kevin Walsh and Khano Smith.
Current Form: Back-to-back wins have Revs trending up; Crew SC coming off midweek draw
An audacious first-half goal from Juan Agudelo – his first since returning to the Revs this past offseason – and a second-half penalty kick from Lee Nguyen lifted New England to a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids last weekend at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. It was the Revolution’s first win in Colorado in almost 13 years.
WATCH: Agudelo and Nguyen score either side of halftime as Revs break Colorado curse
The win was New England’s second straight and improved the club’s record to 2-0-1 in the past three games, a stretch in which the Revs have conceded just one goal – and that was from the penalty spot.
“We’re starting to find our rhythm a little bit and we’re starting to go back to what we do,” said Jay Heaps. “I think defensively, everyone’s defending. I don’t think it’s just the back four or the goalkeeper making saves – it’s a group effort. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Columbus has battled through a stop-start schedule to open the season – Crew SC has already had two off weekends through the first month – with the action heating up this week. Gregg Berhalter’s side played Wednesday night in Vancouver, surrendering a pair of leads and settling for a 2-2 draw with Whitecaps FC.
Crew SC traveled directly to Foxborough from the Pacific Northwest following the midweek match, but Heaps downplayed the role that would play on Saturday afternoon.
“It doesn’t matter what we’ve done and it doesn’t matter what they’ve done,” he said. “We’re going to step on that field and it’s going to be a pretty big game for both teams.”
Past Meetings: Last year’s heated playoff series adds intrigue to this weekend’s encounter
Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between the Revolution and Crew SC since the teams did battle in last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Revs won both games of that series by a pair of goals – 4-2 in Columbus and 3-1 in the return leg at Gillette Stadium – en route to a 7-3 aggregate victory.
WATCH: Re-live last year’s playoff series as the Revs advanced to the conference championship
Berhalter has said he wants his players to be motivated by last year’s playoff exit at Gillette Stadium, and that’s exactly the type of challenge the Revs are expecting to face on Saturday afternoon.
READ: Revs expecting Crew SC to have a “chip on their shoulder” in playoff rematch
The Revs have won five of the last seven regular-season meetings between these sides dating back to the end of the 2012 campaign, but Crew SC was victorious in two of the three regular-season encounters last year, including a 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium in late July.
Injury Report: Jones hopeful he’ll be available for selection on Saturday
Jermaine Jones took another step in his recovery last weekend when he made the trip to Colorado for the Revs’ win over the Rapids, and he’s hoping this weekend his comeback will be complete with a return to the field.
Jones was a full participant in training throughout the week and while he admits there’s still work to do to reach 100 percent fitness, he’s already feeling the positive benefits of his recent sports hernia surgery.
“I feel good,” Jones said on Friday morning. “The biggest point is I don’t have that pain anymore, and that’s good. Now we’ll see how it goes. Training is different to games, but I hope I get some minutes tomorrow.”
If Jones is able to feature on Saturday he’ll join Kevin Alston and Teal Bunbury on the recently-healthy list after the duo made their own returns from injury last weekend in Colorado.
Meanwhile, Jose Goncalves appears to have minimized the effects of the calf tightness which forced him off in the second half of that game in Colorado, as his name did not appear on this week’s official injury report. Daigo Kobayashi, who missed last weekend’s game with a left hamstring strain, is listed as questionable.
Final Thoughts: Positive results evidence that Revs are “starting to grow together”
“I think the team’s starting to grow together, starting to get more and more comfortable with each other,” said Darrius Barnes. “Obviously getting good results at home and on the road builds that a little bit.
“We’re just trying to continue to grow. We know we’re not where we want to be right now, but just continuing to develop and grow as a team and starting to get players back, it helps the confidence big-time.”
