National TV Spotlight Shines on Struggling Revs’ Offense

You can’t win if you don’t score, and for the New England Revolution, seeing a goose-egg on the scoreboard after 90 minutes has become all too common. After finally breaking through for their first win of the season against the New York Red Bulls, Caleb Porter’s squad were shut out again, 1-0, in their last action at FC Cincinnati.  

The Revs (1-4-1; 4 points) will look to rebound this Saturday when they travel to meet the high-octane attack of Atlanta United, their lone regular season game this year in the national spotlight on FOX, FOX Deportes, and Apple TV+.  

“Clearly when you look at this game, we were organized, the players worked extremely hard,” Porter told Beatle, Zo and McKone on Thursday. “We were a bit unlucky. We hit the post twice. We should have probably gotten a penalty in the second half. That’s the good news. The bad news is, we’re in every game but we’re not finding the win.”  

With a quick glance at the MLS Eastern Conference table and offensive output, fans could be forgiven for thinking the sky is falling in Foxborough. However, Porter believes his team has made too much progress to simply change course now and go back to the drawing board.  

“Our staff included, we need to find ways to break through and bubble over. For me, it’s little tweaks,” Porter said. “We can’t be stubborn and say, ‘Hey, everything is good, we’re in every game.’ We need a little tweak. We’re looking as a staff, how can we make a few little wrinkles that will take us over the top.”  

Like in most sports, advanced analytics may not tell the whole story and no metric will ever trump the most important statistic, goals on the scoreboard. Nevertheless, there are signs that the Revs are slowly creeping closer to a breakthrough. Bertrand asked Porter if New England’s 35 entries into the box against Cincinnati is an encouraging sign. 

“Yeah, for sure. The last two [games] in particular, we’ve played in a much more aggressive way. We created a lot more chances in those two games,” Porter replied. “Obviously, we won the game versus Red Bull. We didn’t win the game versus Cincinnati, but we created enough in the game to at least get a draw out of the match. Thirty-five times we’re in the box; that’s enough times to score goals. 

“Our evolution in the last two games is a good one. We’re creating enough chances now, and now it comes down to that player in the moment. That’s not me saying it’s just the players and I’m doing everything right, but that’s me speaking to reality. If we get the players in good spots, then they do have to score and they do have to finish.”  

That begs the question – who will be the player that steps up for the Revs and finally provides the finishing touch? Porter could get two of his highest-paid players, both accomplished goal scorers, back in the fold this weekend.  

“We have Leo Campana and Tomas Chancalay who are essentially two Designated Players coming back this week. That will certainly help.”  

Catch the Revs in action this Saturday, April 12 as they take on Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Listen to Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies with the call on 98.5 The Sports Hub. The match airs nationally on FOX and FOX Deportes and is also available to anyone with an Apple TV+ subscription.

Listen to the full interview!