FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After a 16-day stretch without a match and four weeks between home games, the New England Revolution found a way to get the result they needed on Saturday night as they defeated D.C. United, 3-2, at Gillette Stadium.
Ultimately the win meant three vital points in the standings, regardless of how the match played out.
“Today was a tough game,” said Diego Fagundez. “I don’t think it was our best performance, but at the end of the day we got three points, so now we have to keep going and prepare for the next one.”
While the Revs were disappointed with aspects of their performance, it was critical that they finished with a positive result. The win over D.C. pushed the Revs to 7-4-6 (27 pts.) at the halfway point of the regular-season schedule, as it was New England’s 17th match of the year.
More importantly it was the start of a big stretch of home matches for the Revs, the first of three consecutive games at Gillette Stadium. With a road-heavy second half of the season, it was key for the Revs to begin their homestand on the right foot.
“It’s exactly what you want to do,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner. “A game where maybe you don’t play your best, you don’t have your best stuff, you get the three points and now you’re rolling. You can work on the things you need to work on and fix them. After that, hopefully the next two games (we’ll get) six points.”
All three games within this stretch are against teams that currently sit below the playoff line within their respective conferences. The Revs know that this stretch presents an opportunity to cement their position in the East, and this win is the first step to doing just that.
“We have three home games and we want nine points out of it,” said Fagundez. “If we lose any points, I think we’re going to be disappointed.”
The Revs now have their sights set on next Saturday’s home match against Seattle Sounders FC before hosting the LA Galaxy the following weekend.
“All in all we’ll take the three points (tonight) and walk away happy, but we have to improve things from here,” said head coach Brad Friedel.
