The Revolution have started off 2018 with a 3-1-2 record. Only one of those wins were on the road. But as all Revs fans will remind you, New England had one road win in all of 2017. However, fans shouldn’t celebrate now, because we know it’s always possible to go into another slump. While Saturday will mark road game number three for the Revs, nothing would solidify this team’s turnaround and competitiveness with another win. Brad Freidel talked about how winning road games was a crucial point of any team’s success. Now it’s time for him to prove his team can do just that.
The Revs road record over the last two years is 4-24-28, including a win and a loss in 2018. For most teams, they will get four wins a year on the road, but not the Revs. A win will prove this team truly has what it takes to win on the road, and solidify that they didn’t just get lucky against Houston. This team needs to stay disciplined to earn a victory. Even this early; this is a six point game. A Revs win could potentially put them in second place, depending on how Atlanta does. A loss could see the Revs fall down to as low as sixth place in the east. It’s never too early to talk about standings in MLS.
A Brief History Lesson
Revs vs Crew during 2014 MLS Playoffs
Dating back to 2014, New England has a 5-6-1 record against Columbus. Their last road win came back in the 2014 playoffs, when the Revs beat them 4-2. The Revs made their last two road matchups interesting when they brought former Crew forward Kei Kamara back to his home. Unfortunately they were unable to get a result. If you want to find the last time the Revs beat the Crew on the road in a regular season matchup, you have to rewind all the way back to October 27th, 2013, when the Revs closed out the regular season with a 1-0 victory. So how will Freidel get it done?
How Will the Revs Do It?
The Crew got off to one of the best starts of any MLS team in 2018, starting off 3-0-1 including a defeat against reigning MLS Cup Champions Toronto FC. Now the Crew has since simmered down, losing their last three games against Vancouver, Chicago, and DC. While the game against Vancouver was a home game, the Revs will look to capitalize on a vulnerable Crew team. On the other hand, Crew will not want to lose their fourth game in a row. Especially not in front of their home fans. Look for Columbus to come shooting out of the cannon early trying to get on the board fast.
It’s important that the Revs stand their ground and continue their high press, which worked extremely well against Houston. After Head Coach Brad Freidel used the same lineup three weeks in a row producing two shutouts, it didn’t go his way in the third game with a 1-0 loss at home to FC Dallas. One can only expect that after three weeks, we will see a different starting XI come Saturday. Potential changes could come from Antonio Delamea, who hasn’t seen the field since week one, or possibly Juan Agudelo or Krisztián Németh returning as well. One thing Brad Freidel stressed at the beginning of the year is that players would have to fight for spots at training. So whoever get’s the start will be carefully selected one can assume.
