By Tiffany Williams –
After playing New York City FC to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, the New England Revolution were back Gillette on for their first training session.
With New York now in their rear view mirror, New England is focused on hosting CF Montreal for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, April 8.
Following Tuesday’s session, Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena along with Revolution midfielder Carles Gil and defender DeJuan Jones talked with the media about their upcoming match.
When asked Tuesday about rebounding from a draw with New York City FC last weekend, Arena said “Well, Montreal will be a difficult opponent. Every team in this league, we’re pretty comparable. Maybe there’s a couple teams ahead of everyone else, but the remaining 20-something teams are very similar. So, we’ve got to be prepared to play well on Saturday in order to get three points.”
When asked if the 4-1-1 start has exceeded expectations, Arena, “I didn’t draw up a plan for what we were supposed to do six games in. But we go out and we try to win every week.”
Revolution Midfielder Carles Gil on Saturday was asked on Tuesday about the 1-1 draw vs. New York City FC, and Gil said “Obviously we want to win all the games at home. Yeah, I think we had a good game. New York is always a very difficult team. But after winning, you know, I think for 85 minutes [when they scored] that goal, it was a little bit of frustration. But we move on and will focus on Saturday.”
When about how he feels physically, Gil said “Better, much better, obviously after two, three weeks, difficult weeks. I feel good. I’m trying to be 100 percent fit and be ready for the season.”
On playing against CF Montreal this Saturday, Gil told the media “In this league, you never know. Every game is difficult, is different. They’ve had a difficult start to the season but they’re a good team. They’ll be difficult for sure.”
When talking about CF Montréal, Revolution Defender DeJuan Jones said “Yeah, I’m pretty sure they still play with wingbacks and like you said, [Romell] Quioto’s been a problem for us in the past, so we’re definitely going to scout him and make sure we’re ready for all they have, but we’re really focused on us, making sure we have the right shape and have the right mentality for 90 minutes.”
When asked about the standings affecting the team’s mentality this weekend, Jones said “I mean, yeah, I think in this league every game is just going to be a tough game. It doesn’t matter where you are in the standings. Yeah, I mean, it’s a new day, so it’s going to be a tough game and we’re looking forward to it.”
Saturday’s match against CF Montréal can be heard on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2 with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies.
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