FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Fan favorite Scott Caldwell’s first goal of the season early in the second half brought the Gillette Stadium crowd to life on Saturday night, and it seemed to have the New England Revolution well on their way to a slump-busting victory over the Portland Timbers.
But the same issues that have haunted the Revs throughout the past two months came to the fore once again as they conceded from yet another corner kick – the Timbers’ only shot on target of the match – and were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in a game they’d billed as a must-win.
“To be honest with you, I thought we were in control,” said head coach Brad Friedel. “It was defending a set piece. There’s not much more to stay about it. They didn’t have a lot of chances to score in the game. Another goalkeeper mistake and another mistake on a marking assignment – simple.”
The result stretched the Revolution’s winless run to nine games (0-6-3), their longest since 2012, and leaves them six points adrift of the playoff places in the Eastern Conference following the Montreal Impact’s victory over the New York Red Bulls.
Just as he has several times throughout the current stretch, Friedel again pointed to mentality and heart when addressing what’s plagued the Revolution this summer.
“It has nothing to do with ability,” Friedel said. “I’ve said this many times, and I believe it – we have a lot of very talented players in the locker room. Talent only gets you so far.
“We want winners. I’ve said it many times. We’ll have winners here. That’s how it’s going to be. The staff and myself won’t accept things of this nature for long.”
Friedel and the Revs won’t have long to prepare for their next match, either, as they’ll head on the road for a midweek visit to Yankee Stadium, where New York City FC are 10-0-3 on the year.
It’s another massive test for the Revs, who’ll need to dig deep to find the resolve necessary to put together a late-season run.
“We have nothing left to lose,” said Kelyn Rowe, who made his first start since mid-July on Saturday night. “We are at the part of our season when we’ve kind of dug ourselves a hole and we need to crawl out of it. We need to find a way to get confidence in ourselves and each other, because if not, it’s going to be a long road these last eight games.
“We need to find it; all the heart we can, all the concentration we can in every minute, and we’ve got to have guys step up and back each other up.”
