Shorthanded Revs in must-win mode
FOXBORO — There are nine games remaining in the MLS regular season, so the Revolution better start the winning trend tonight against Orlando City SC at Gillette Stadium if they have any hope of making the playoffs.
“It’s very important. Every game right now is a playoff game for us,” said defender Andrew Farrell. “We’re taking it one by one. We’re playing a lot of teams coming up that are fighting for the spot that we’re playing for. We just have to focus on one game at a time but we can’t drop points, especially at home.
“That’s what everybody, kind of, has bought into right now. I think most of the guys realize that.”
The Revs (8-12-5) are 10th in the Eastern Conference with 29 points, seven points out of a playoff spot, and hold a game in hand on Orlando (8-11-7), which sits just ahead of the Revs. But the Revs are playing well at home (8-2-2) this season, while Orlando (2-7-3) has struggled, and the Revs have never lost to the Florida team at Gillette (1-0-1).
“I think that in September and October, in past years, that we’ve done really well,” Farrell said. “It’s kind of that mentality where we’re between a rock and a hard place and we just have to come out and play well.
“It’s do or die. I think the guys, going forward defensively, in the later months, we play a lot better and get results.”
Tonight’s game was postponed from March due to a frigid wave of temperatures that made playing the game untenable for both players and fans.
“Really it’s what you talk about all year, but unfortunately we put ourselves in a situation where it’s a must-win game for us to get points,” said coach Jay Heaps. “For us, we have to approach it as one game at a time. We’re facing a team that we’re going to play twice (also on Sept. 27) that is also fighting for the same thing we are.”
Heaps discounted any suggestion that the Revs must now pull a proverbial switch overnight to rejuvenate their playoff hopes.
“The truth is, we try and pull the switch all the time. I don’t think it’s something that we intentionally wait for the end of the year,” Heaps said. “Certainly, as a group, you don’t want to have to pull the switch. The switch is the reality that there is no room for error.”
The Revs will be limited somewhat personnelwise. Defenders Antonio Delamea (Slovenia) and JeVaughn Watson (Jamaica) have been called into their respective national teams. Midfielder Kelyn Rowe suffered a right knee sprain last week at D.C. United, and he’s expected to be out six weeks. Key performers Diego Fagundez (right quad strain), Lee Nguyen (right hamstring strain) and newcomer Krisztian Nemeth (left calf strain) are listed as questionable.
“So, we can’t make excuses. This game was postponed from March and there’s not much we can do about it,” said Heaps. “I think opportunities are going to come and guys are going to have to be ready when they step on the field whether they played 10 games to this point or 25 games.”
Orlando poses a challenge due to its plethora of high quality players, including Kaka, Dom Dwyer and Cristian Higuita.
“Yeah, they have a great attack. They have great players everywhere. They have a lot of quality so it’s going to be a tough task for our defense,” Farrell said. “We all have to be ready, not just the defenders, the four back line and the goaltender, but every player has to get down there and defend.
“That’s how we got good results in our last two home games when we played really well.”