Revolution face a must-win match Tuesday against Houston Dynamo
FOXBORO -- There was no doubt that the Revolution would be in the playoffs last season, as they dominated Major League Soccer on their way to the club's first-ever Supporter's Shield. This year is much, much different.
The Revs have yet to hit their stride, and they're running out of time to make a push for the postseason. With four games left in the regular season and the club currently on the outside of the current MLS playoff picture, the Revs need to earn every single point they can get.
There is no margin of error the rest of the way. The Revolution need points -- and they need them every time they step on the pitch.
Sitting three points behind Columbus for the seventh and final playoff spot in the East, New England has a chance to pull even with the Crew with a Tuesday night victory in Houston. Columbus also plays Tuesday night, playing Inter Miami FC in Florida, and has a game in hand on New England. The Revs are well aware that they really need to stack up wins the rest of the way.
"Get three points by any means necessary," defenseman Henry Kessler said of Tuesday's match. "We don't have too many matches left, so we need to get points. That's the mindset, that's the approach, and that's the goal."
The Revolution can't settle for one-point draws anymore. And they certainly can't walk off the pitch without any points, as was the case Saturday night when the club squandered a 1-0 advantage over the New York Red Bulls. New York stormed back to take the match 2-1.
With that loss, New England is now 3-5-6 in its last 14 games. That isn't going to get it done for a team fighting for a playoff spot.
"We need to win the game," McNamara said of Tuesday's tilt in Houston. "That's been the message since the game ended against Red Bull [Saturday] evening. So, that's the mindset that we have going into it."
McNamara scored New England's lone goal on Saturday night, his fourth tally of the season. He's doing his part to get the Revs back in the postseason picture, with three goals and four assists over the last eight matches.
"It's crunch time now," said McNamara, who played for Houston before joining the Revs in 2020. "I mean, it has been, and we've been in this kind of state that we've been in over the last few weeks that we need to pick up results and we need to win games. So, we just need to have a committed effort from all 11 guys on the field and from the players that come off the bench to try to do everything that we can to get three points here."
You can catch Tuesday night's Revolution-Dynamo match on TV38 at 8:30 p.m.
