Revolution take on old rival Columbus Crew in brand new stadium

The New England Revolution are out to skunk the Columbus Crew’s house party.

The Revolution will engage the reigning MLS champion Crew on Saturday evening (5) in celebration of the grand opening of their new stadium. The two original MLS franchises will play the inaugural match at Lower.com Field, a soccer-only venue with a seating capacity of 20,011 located in Columbus, Ohio.

The Revolution are perched atop the Eastern Conference at 7-2-2, while the Crew hold down fifth place at 4-3-3. In an historical side note, the Revolution will be playing the franchise’s 800th MLS game and 76th (24-38-13) against the Crew.

Revs head coach Bruce Arena anticipates a back-alley brawl against a motivated opponent on the pristine new pitch.

“Well, it will certainly be a hectic day for our team,” said Arena. “There will be a lot of excitement in Columbus, their players will be excited and their fans will be excited.

“So, it will be a great challenge against a good team.”

Revolution forward Tajon Buchanan will compete against the Crew before joining the Canadian National team for an opening-round match against Martinique in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup tournament.

Buchanan has experienced tough matches against the Crew in the past without the added incentive of cutting the ribbon on their new abode. The Revolution are 2-2-2 on the road this season and are coming off a tough-luck 2-1 loss at FC Dallas on June 27.

“This is a huge game for us coming off a loss and we all want to regroup and put in a good performance,” said Buchanan. “Obviously, Columbus is opening their new stadium, so that’s going to be a tough environment to play.

“They are going to come out very strong, but we’ve just got to play our game and hopefully try and get three points.”

The Revolution and Crew enter the match harboring grudges from their most recent encounters. Columbus knocked the Revolution out of the 2020 MLS playoffs with a 1-0 victory in the Eastern Conference title game on Dec. 6. Columbus squashed the Seattle Sounders 3-0 in the MLS Cup final.

The Revolution gained a measure of retribution when they downed the Crew 1-0 on May 16 at Gillette Stadium. Striker Adam Buksa scored the lone goal on a set-piece header from playmaker Carles Gil in the 86th minute.

“Honestly, we remember that match, it was a final and we lost,” said striker Gustavo Bou. “But the nice thing in soccer is that you can get an opportunity for revenge quickly.

“Obviously the circumstances aren’t the same but we remember that loss. Hopefully we can do things well in this game and get three points.”

Bou was a dominant scorer in MLS during the month of June, with goals in four straight games, the longest streak of his MLS career. The Revolution are third in MLS with 18 goals, fifth in shots on target (58) and second in corners (76). Gil, who was named MLS Player of the Month for June, leads the league with 10 assists.

“The team is doing everything it can for me to find scoring situations,” said Bou. “If I score, I’m happy and if the team wins that’s even better.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2TyXiqZ