FOXBOROUGH, Mass – An Eastern Conference Championship rematch is on tap this weekend at Gillette Stadium, where the New England Revolution will host the New York Red Bulls.
The first-place Revs (4-2-2, 14 pts.) will take on the third-place Red Bulls (3-0-4, 13 pts.) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, with local television coverage on Comcast SportsNet New England. Once again radio listeners can catch the call in both English (98.5 The Sports Hub) and Portuguese (WMVX 1570 AM Nossa Radio USA).
TICKETS: Get Revs-Red Bulls tix and arrive early to get a Jermaine Jones Bobblehead!
Stay tuned to CSNNE after the game for Revolution Postgame Live with Dalen Cuff and Khano Smith.
Current Form: Two of MLS’ hottest sides square off with first place on the line
Last weekend’s comprehensive 4-0 win over Real Salt Lake not only extended the Revolution’s unbeaten run to six games (4-0-2), it also represented the club’s most complete performance through the season’s first two months. Four different players scored goals and the dynamic attack created a series of other quality chances, while defensively the Revs kept their fourth clean sheet in the past six games.
WATCH: Offense explodes as Revs roll to first win over RSL in almost six years
“I think it was a complete performance,” said Kelyn Rowe. “Obviously there’s still stuff to go. We’re still early in the season, but it felt good to put a team out like that. We haven’t had a big victory like that and I think for us, getting multiple guys scoring is just great to go forward.”
The win was the biggest of New England’s current 12-game, regular-season home unbeaten run (9-0-3), which dates back to last July and matches a club record set 10 years ago.
The Red Bulls arrive in Foxborough as the league’s last remaining unbeaten side, pairing three wins with four draws through seven games. Midweek they finished up a three-game homestand with a 1-0-2 record, beating the San Jose Earthquakes before drawing the LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids.
It’s been an impressive start for the new-look Red Bulls, who replaced head coach Mike Petke with Jesse Marsch this past offseason and feature just three of the 11 players who started the second leg of last year’s Eastern Conference Championship.
Past Meetings: Revs overcame Red Bulls in epic conference championship last season
The last time the Revs and Red Bulls squared off at Gillette Stadium there was a trophy on the line, and it was New England who lifted it with a 4-3 aggregate win in the Eastern Conference Championship.
Teal Bunbury and Jermaine Jones scored in the first leg at Red Bull Arena to give the Revs a 2-1 advantage heading home, before Charlie Davies scored twice – including a dramatic late equalizer – to help New England secure the necessary 2-2 draw in the return leg and book a spot in MLS Cup.
WATCH: Bunbury and Jones give Revs critical advantage in front of raucous road support
WATCH: Davies does the double as Revs win first conference championship since 2007
New England has advanced past New York on all four postseason encounters (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), but regular-season results have been less kind in recent years. The Revs are 0-3-3 in their last six regular-season meetings with the Red Bulls, including 0-1-2 in the last three meetings in Foxborough.
Injury Report: Revs nearing full health as results continue to pile up
As reported last Friday, versatile defender Darrius Barnes will miss the next six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, striking a blow to New England’s backline depth.
But head coach Jay Heaps may have the entire rest of his roster to choose from on Saturday night, as both Jose Goncalves (calf) and Daigo Kobayashi (hamstring) have returned to full training. Goncalves was available on the bench last weekend against RSL, while Kobayashi is close to a return after missing the past four games.
Final Thoughts: Rowe says fan support plays critical role in impressive home form
“It’s the fans. It’s the supporters,” Rowe said when asked how the Revs have managed to go unbeaten in their last 12 home games. “And it’s not just everyone that lives in Massachusetts, but everyone that’s driving from Maine, driving from Connecticut – those big drives.
“For us, it shows that they’re so willing to support us and we want to win, we want to play for them. You see it in the 80th, 90th minute when you get the ball going forward and all you can hear is roars from the crowd.”
