The New England Revolution have hit something of a bump in the road with three losses on the spin. Both league play and cup action has fallen by the wayside, the trio of defeats coming all away from home. Next up is the visit of the Chicago Fire to Gillette Stadium…
Three Losses on the Spin to Spiral Out of Control?
Ema Boateng Deputising for Dylan Borrero
The biggest change in the Revolution ranks in recent weeks has been in the wide areas. Dylan Borrero was starring on the left until injury struck, and so now the more experienced Ema Boateng has been thrust into action.
On the topic of the Ghanaian replacing Borrero, Bruce Arena has sung his praises. “His experience shows, his fitness level has improved, so he’s really done a great job.” The pair are no strangers to each other, having worked together in LA as well with the Galaxy. Boateng’s contract expired at the end of last season but the Revs decided to re-up his deal.
Weekly reminder MLS GMs are dumb for not signing Ema Boateng when he was a free agent https://t.co/7ZBiHpEz8b
— Revolution Recap (@RevolutionRecap) May 7, 2023
One of Boateng’s biggest strengths is his speed, as all Major League Soccer fans will be aware of. Borrero boasts a similar trait and so Ema is certainly a great player to step into that role. On that matter, he said the following. “I just try to use my speed on the flanks and give them service to create goals for the team.”
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Bruce Arena’s Thoughts on the Three Losses on the Spin
As well as being knocked out of the Open Cup by lower-league side, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, the Revs have been defeated by two MLS sides in these three losses on the spin. Bruce Arena is expecting a change in fortunes and also highlighted the issues of these recent outings.
“I think in Miami, we were pretty sloppy in conceding two goals and the last game in Philadelphia, I think the same. We need to be better defensively, and we need to be a little bit better in the attacking end of the field as well, so to answer your question, we can be better everywhere in the field.”
“Get back to winning ways.” Happy MD-1!
We’ll see you tomorrow #NErevs fam💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/filJvz1edS
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) May 26, 2023
When it comes to the opponent at hand, the Chicago Fire recently relieved Ezra Hendrickson of his services as the head coach. Here is what Ema Boateng had to say about the visitors. “They’ve had a couple of good games recently since they’re new [interim] coach, so they’ll be a good team. We’ve been training hard and want to get a good result this week. We’re definitely excited for the challenge and we’re ready for it.”
The Revs are still in a very strong position and so there is no need to panic. Meanwhile, only Toronto FC are below the Fire in the Eastern Conference standings and so they will be hoping to continue the better form that interim Frank Klopas has brought to the table. Can New England arrest the spiral and prevent three losses on the spin from becoming four?
Featured image credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports, taken on May 13, 2023.
