Orlando pirate aim to end longstanding struggles at Revolution
Orlando City SC will attempt to make it three wins in a row when they travel to face the New England Revolution on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass. Orlando is coming off a dominant 5-0 win over D.C. United last weekend and has allowed just one goal against over its previous two matches.
The Lions (7-9-6, 27 points) have scored a club-record 15 goals over their last five outings while going 3-1-1. “First, we’re trying to keep and improve the level (of our play) like always,” Orlando coach Oscar Pareja said. “The results obviously just give us more confidence to continue on winning games and adding important points. I think the functionality of the team is much better and the
cohesiveness that we have found in the last two (matches) has given us optimism. “We have to keep working. The journey is still in front of us, and we have to keep improving and see if we can
maintain this level of not just playing well but having the confidence.” Midfielder Martin Ojeda has contributed to a goal in each of his three matches since entering the starting lineup on June 28, while forward Facundo Torres tallied a goal and two assists in the win over D.C. United. Torres now has eight goal contributions (four goals, four assists) in his last five matches. Orlando has not won in eight visits (0-6-2) to Gillette Stadium. The Lions have scored just six goals and conceded 21 in eight trips to New England. The Revs enter Saturday’s contest with just one victory in their last
three matches but have won five of the last seven to move within two points of the playoff line. New England (7-12-1, 22 points) is last in MLS with 20 goals scored and is 4-6-1 in home matches this season. “You have to take care of business at home. We didn’t do that early in the year, but we have done that a little bit more recently, and I think the guys have gained confidence at home,” Revs head coach Caleb Porter said of the three wins over the past four home matches.
“This will be another tough (match), a very important match. We have three (matches) until kind of a break — this is our 21st game, so it’s going to happen fast, but we want to get as many points as possible here before the break.” Carles Gil is expected to miss his third straight match due to a lower leg injury.
Forward Giacomo Vrioni leads the Revs with seven goals, including five in his past five appearances. Saturday is the first of two meetings between the two clubs. They’ll reconvene in Orlando on Sept. 14 for the rematch.
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