FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Teams rarely get to linger long on results, especially this late in the season. But New England’s players were barely out of the showers Saturday night before they had to stop savoring what may have been a season-saving victory against New York City FC and turn their attention to Tuesday’s US Open Cup final in Dallas (10 pm ET; ESPN2, UDN).
The Revolution’s opponent – FC Dallas – offer an even more daunting challenge than the quick turnaround. Dallas own the best record in the league and have lost just once in Toyota Stadium this season. They handed the Revs a 4-2 defeat at Gillette Stadium during the teams’ lone 2016 meeting, in May.
“They’re at the top of the league for a reason. They’re a really, really good team,” said Revs forward Juan Agudelo. “I watched their Open Cup game against LA [Galaxy] and they deserved to win that game, I think. They have very fast players out wide and their defense is strong.”
To add to the mounting list of obstacles, the availability of starters Kei Kamara and Je-Vaughn Watson will remain up in the air right up to Tuesday, as both are dealing with lingering injuries.
Kamara ranks third on the team in goals, despite coming over from Columbus midseason, and Watson has provided unexpected offense during this competition. He scored one goal and delivered the clinching penalty in a quarterfinal shootout with Philadelphia, and connected on the eventual game-winner in the semifinal against Chicago.
Revs coach Jay Heaps said the team will likely determine the duo’s status the morning of the match.
That semifinal win was the lone result New England were able to secure during a dreary six-match stretch during MLS play in which the Revs managed just a solitary draw. But they’ve now won two in a row, including Saturday’s sterling performance against Eastern Conference frontrunners NYCFC, in which New England dominated from the opening whistle.
“I felt like the last two games have been more complete 90 minutes. So, now we have that confidence going into one of the toughest places to play in Dallas,” Heaps said. “If we maintain our confidence, we should have an opportunity, but over the next two days, it’s really important that guys get rested and available.”
