“Everything is now moving to Wednesday” | Attention turns to Atlanta after Revs’ home loss

The head coach Caleb Porter stressed after the final whistle that the tough loss to his former team took nothing away from the success the Revs had enjoyed in previous weeks, but confirmed the importance of focusing on Wednesday’s game.

“We’ve obviously played really well and we’ve won four in a row. We can’t lose sight of that,” Porter said. “We have to learn from this game; there were a lot of little things to look at, to improve on… We’re going to be better from this game. We can’t dwell on that; we have a quick turnaround with Atlanta. It’s really important that we bounce back on Wednesday and get this win.”

Porter acknowledged that the quick turnaround of Wednesday’s game came with its own unique challenges and acknowledged the importance of securing a positive result against Atlanta United FC’s playoff hopes.

“I’d rather have a week, to be honest with you, so I can prepare and rest the guys,” he said. “But it’s like this, you have to turn around and you have to win the next game. It’s a very important game. Obviously it would have been nice to beat Columbus, but realistically the game against Atlanta is probably more important because they are around us (in the Eastern Conference standings so we cannot give points to teams who are in the race for the playoffs).

Atlanta’s dramatic last-minute winner against Toronto FC on Saturday night lifted them to 24 points (6-8-6), just out of reach of the Revolution who remain on 19 points (6-11-1) after the loss. But, as the Revs continue to chase an Eastern Conference playoff spot, every point will count in the months ahead, and a positive result against the Five Stripes will go a long way toward boosting the Revs’ chances of playing playoff football.