FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When newcomers Aljaž Ivačič and Xavier Arreaga joined the New England Revolution almost two months ago, a good deal of focus was put on each one’s ability to play with the ball at their feet – and rightly so. But in the weeks since they signed, the emphasis on how they help the Revolution in building out of the back may have morphed into a spreading belief that head coach Caleb Porter’s preferred system is one that strictly adheres to a possession-based style of play, exclusively playing out of defense at the expense of any other approach.
Last Saturday’s win against Nashville SC should help to dispel those notions, as the Revs secured a 2-1 victory with a dynamic performance that featured one goal scored from a period of controlled possession and another through an incisive counterattack, not to mention a number of other close chances and a solid showing defensively. And, as the 2024 season continues into the summer months, Porter says he feels the squad is starting to come into its own in terms of their style of play, just in time for their rematch with the New York Red Bulls this weekend.
Midfielder Matt Polster would arguably be one of the players best suited to speak on the team’s stylistic evolution since Porter took the reins, given his role in the center of the pitch in partnership with Mark-Anthony Kaye. Polster said after training on Tuesday that he could tell the team’s system had grown since the start of the season.
“Looking at the previous matches, you know, I think we wanted to be a little more aggressive [than that] going forward,” he said. “Playing the ball forward more often and at a quicker pace. It looked like we did that against Nashville and that’s why we benefitted a lot more in the game.”
Polster added that the dynamic nature of the team’s style didn’t mean there would never be any focus on possession-based play, but rather that the key was finding the proper balance.
“We definitely still want to be a possessive team,” he said, “but still able to play for it at a quicker pace.”
Porter has himself spoken in the past about how his ideal style of play is not one of rigid adherence to maximizing possession or only ever building out from the back.
“Again, I don’t care about possession,” he said after the Revs last played RBNY. “I care about whether or not we stop a team like Red Bull who wants to press us and disrupt us.”
And Porter felt that his players had done a great job of implementing his tactical principles in Saturday’s victory over Nashville SC.
“We were aggressive,” he said in his post-match press conference. “We got on the ball. We dictated portions of the game. We played direct when we needed to. We dropped off when we needed to. I thought the decision making really came together today.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Porter reiterated his happiness with the team’s development in recent weeks and went into further detail about what he liked against the Boys in Gold.
“It’s coming together, obviously,” he said. “We won the game, but we played well. I’ve been saying it for weeks, we’re starting to execute more and more. This was definitely a game where it came together. You saw in the attack, the purpose that we played with. It wasn’t just always on the ground; there was some verticality to how we played – sometimes going direct, sometimes building attacks on the ground. Same thing on the defensive side – sometimes pressing high, sometimes holding and waiting.
“The first two goals I think are great examples of how we want to score goals. The first one was an 11-pass sequence, a positional attack where we switched play and then allowed our top players to have creativity in the final third, with a great goal from Carles [Gil]. The second goal was a transition, which is something that we talk about. We want to be very good in those moments where we win the ball. Can we be ruthless going to goal in a short amount of time? So, that was a great goal, as well.”
Porter also recognized that the game in Nashville saw its share of chances that the Revs failed to convert, and said the team would only continue to build on these moments as they fight to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference.
“There were some others,” he said. “Probably the best sequence of the game was the passage of play where we had the ball, we lost it, we counter-pressed, we had it again, and we ended up springing in [Dylan] Borrero for a slide in to [Giacomo] Vrioni. If we finish that, that’s probably the best action of the game. So, it came together, but we have to do it again and again and again and again. We’re in a hole and we have to continue to fight our way out of this hole, so that’s what we’re going to do. This is another game [against the Red Bulls] that we’re going to be very focused on winning and doing everything we can to continue to fight out of this hole that we’re in.”
The Revolution’s upcoming home stand against the Red Bulls and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will provide an invaluable opportunity to sustain some momentum after a run of hopeful performances and a vital three points, while continuing to show their tactical evolution.
