The New England Revolution will seek their first win in more than a month when they host reeling Inter Miami CF on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
The Revolution (7-3-6, 27 points), who haven’t won since a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC on May 6, are coming off a 0-0 draw against the host New York City FC last Saturday.
Djordje Petrovic saw 17 shots and stopped all five that were on target to record his six shutout of the season and his 13th in the past two seasons. New England put two shots on goal all game.
“He was steady throughout the game with good distribution, and it was good to get a clean sheet again,” Revolution coach Bruce Arena said. “Djordje has been punished by some poor defending in front of him the last couple of games, so it was good to see him get a clean sheet.”
It was New England’s third straight draw in a span of eight days and dropped the Revs to fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Revolution have been struggling since seeing their eight-game unbeaten streak end with a loss to host Inter Miami in the teams’ first meeting on May 13.
After David Ruiz gave Miami a 1-0 lead, New England’s Carles Gil tied the game in the 26th minute before Josef Martinez’s strike in the 44th minute proved to be the difference.
Miami has been in a tailspin since that game, having dropped its past five league games and getting outscored 9-3 in those matches.
The Herons (5-11-0, 15 points), who are last in the 15-team Eastern Conference, are making much bigger news off the field. Megastar Lionel Messi, who captained the Argentine national team to a World Cup title this past fall, announced he plans to sign with Miami after leaving French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi is expected to join The Herons in July once the deal is finalized.
Miami is coming off a 1-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC, a second-tier professional team, in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. It was the Herons’ second game and first win under interim coach Javier Morales, who took over for the fired Phil Neville last week.
“This win is very important, not just for us as a team, but for the whole organization,” Morales said. “We made history today — it’s the first time that the team made the semifinals.”
But in their most recent MLS game, the Herons surrendered two goals in the final 20-plus minutes in a 2-1 loss to visiting D.C. United last Saturday.
Ian Fray’s goal in the second minute of stoppage time prevented Inter Miami CF from being blanked for the third straight MLS game.
–Field Level Media
