VANCOUVER, B.C. - If the New England Revolution were tired after their extra time exertions against the Carolina RailHawks in the US Open Cup on Wednesday, they didn't show it at BC Place on Saturday afternoon.
New England fought hard from the first kick off, showing little signs of tiredness, on their way to a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps, their first road win of the season.
The Revs started eight players that featured in that US Open Cup win, and head coach Jay Heaps paid credit to the resilience of his team to come away with all three points.
"Really proud of our guys because it was tough," Heaps told reporters after the match. "Playing 120 minutes on Wednesday, I'm really proud with what they were able to do. We played against a very good Vancouver team. They were dangerous, organized and we knew we had to weather the storm a little bit and I thought we did a good job of that."
After a fairly inconsistent start to the season, New England seem to finally be hitting their stride. The win over Vancouver was their third in their last four MLS matches and Heaps has been delighted by the turnaround, crediting a lot of it to the addition of Kei Kamara to the squad, but also the ability to now put in complete performances.
"To be honest, early in the year, I didn't think we were playing poorly but we weren't getting results," Heaps said. "We were a little naive in situations. Now we just want to continue to put together 90-minute performances. We were putting together 60 and 70 minutes and losing on a bad play. Now we're putting together 90 minutes and I think that's been the most important thing over the last four games."
Goalkeeper Brad Knighton was the hero for the Revolution midweek and he came up strong again against his old side, making three big stops and keeping some fierce Whitecaps attacks at bay, and the 'keeper's form over the last two matches has certainly given Heaps something to think about.
"That was what we were hoping for, a lift from Brad," Heaps said. "We knew he was always going to get that Open Cup game and he rose to that occasion and again tonight. We'll go back and look, but I really like what we've seen from him, yes."
For Knighton, coming back to his old stomping ground and putting in such a strong performance was particularly pleasing, but more so the form that the Revolution are now hitting.
"Any time being able to come back to Vancouver is something special," Knighton said after the game. "Very fortunate and grateful for the opportunity. I'm just glad to have this team in winning ways right now. We've won three in a row and we're going to keep this thing going. Hopefully there's more to come."
