News — New England Revolution head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena told reporters Wednesday that he expects the regular season to resume after the MLS is Back Tournament. Arena added that neither he, nor his players, are getting too ahead of themselves.
The Revolution, who beat the Montreal Impact 1–0 in their opening match of Group C last Thursday, have since set their sights on their second game, which comes Friday against D.C. United.
“Our focus is singular,” Arena said. “I don’t like having to wait eight days — it would have been nice if it was shorter — but I’ve got no complaints. We’ll be well-rested.”
New England leads the group and will clinch a Round of 16 berth with a win or tie against D.C. United.
In its first game, D.C. overcame a man-disadvantage and a two-goal deficit as it came back to tie Toronto FC 2–2 Tuesday. As such, Toronto and D.C. are even on points in second and third place, respectively.
Arena credited D.C.’s resilience against Toronto and said he expects more of them same against his players.
“A remarkable result, given they were down two goals and playing with 10 men,” Arena said. “I guess Toronto would say they’re at fault a little bit, but give D.C. credit…With them getting one point, they know they need to get a result Friday. We have to have good focus from the start.”
New England bossed possession and out-shot Montreal 19–7 last week, though the Revolution only put four on target and squandered several chances, with the Impact almost rallying for a late-game equalizer.
Revolution need to “tighten” finishing
Forward Adam Buksa said Wednesday that he and his teammates need to tighten their finishing. He added that United, fresh off an impressive comeback, might not be as forgiving of missed chances as Montreal.
“We’re partly happy with the win, some points we have to improve for sure,” Buksa said. “Finishing is one of them. The same regarding creating chances and playing faster in certain moments.”
Arena said his team is in good spirits and slowly regaining fitness. He again credited the event organizers for creating a safe environment at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex on the Disney campus in Orlando, Florida, for the tournament. Arena said most of his team’s focus is on playing, not the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think part of the battle with any team in any sport, and business as well, is having a good mentality and a good approach day in and day out,” Arena said. “The guys have been good. They’re not complaining about anything and are getting on the with job and getting on well with each other.
“Some teams that have done well to-date here are doing a lot of the same things. Team spirit is an important part of being successful, and I think that’s something we have.”
🖐 biggest storylines heading into our matchup vs. D.C. United.#NERevs | @EmpowerToday pic.twitter.com/kwMDa6afQP
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 15, 2020
MLS is Back providing challenges, opportunities
Meanwhile, some clubs that have been strong in recent seasons, namely Seattle Sounders FC and New York City FC, are off to winless starts in the MLS is Back tournament. Arena said their records so far are surprising, but that no team should be overlooked.
“I think the four-month layover changed a lot of things,” Arena added. “But, it’s hard to read too much into this,” Arena added. “Hopefully everyone gets out of this tournament in decent shape. The league hasn’t announced anything yet, but I anticipate getting on with the regular season after Orlando.
“Teams in their home markets are probably better positioned to earn results. When September comes around we’ll get a better feel for MLS.”
