Sweeney: Impatiently waiting for Revolution to shake road blues

On Monday afternoon out in sunny San Jose, Revolution gaffer Brad Friedel spoke about how he’s trying to erase the so-called “road mentality” from the minds and hearts of this still-in-its-infancy soccer team.

After all, New England has had rather poor form when away from the expansive confines of Gillette Stadium over the last few seasons: Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw with the Earthquakes marked the Revs’ third consecutive road draw in ’18, which put The Boys In Blue at seven — count ‘em — seven road points for the year. It eclipses '17’s total of six road points. Yay, progress!

But just because I want to twist the knife a little harder: since the start of the ’15 season, New England has accrued a grand total of 41 road points (17 in '15, 11 in '16, 6 in '17, 7 in '18) out of a possible 174. Seventeen road matches a season, all worth three points apiece. The Revs have played seven road matches already this year, an average of a draw per match.

In a phrase, that’s not good. We all know that.

Yet Friedel believes this team should have more than seven points away from home this season, and we believe they should, as well. The last three road matches — Vancouver on May 26, Chicago on Saturday, San Jose Wednesday night — should have been W’s, a full three points, had the Revs finished their opportunities and thoroughly dismantled teams who deserved a thorough dismantling.

And how would they do that? By treating games outside the Commonwealth the same as they would treat matches inside of it.

“I don’t think (there) should be a road mentality,” he said. “I think it should just be the same mentality, home or away. I don’t understand … it’s an American culture, really, in all sports that playing on the road is so different than playing at home. It just isn’t.”

He’s right.

Let’s face facts: Home fans have a way of making visiting teams uncomfortable when they’re in their building. There’s plenty of jeering and catcalling; think about the last time you were in the Garden and you booed a certain player from, say, the Cavaliers. What did that guy do? He fed off your animosity and your bloodlust and rose above it.

(Quick aside: Sorry for bringing up such bad memories.)

Soccer players — particularly in Major League Soccer, where it feels like every match is weighted toward the home side — should be able to do this; starting this morning, 31 teams not named Russia will attempt to do just that.

But with the Revs, it feels like this hasn’t been an option, at least not in the last few seasons.

And sure, one can point to the fact that the players aren’t waking up in their own beds, and the fact certain matches can be up to three hours outside your home time zone, as was the case in Vancouver, as was the case at the Avaya Wednesday night. But professional athletes need to be professional and push all of that hullaballoo — all of that crap — out of their minds and focus on the task at hand.

If the Revs have been able to do that, then there’s no way they drop points on the road. None whatsoever. Not with the perceived offensive firepower in this club. Not with a stud named Matt Turner in goal.

With this defense? OK, you got me there.

If they’re focused on the task at hand in Vancouver, they don’t fly home on the Patriots’ 757s feeling like an opportunity to gain ground has slipped away.

If they finished first-half chances against Chicago, they fly to California on top of the world, Bastian Schweinsteiger’s 63^rd-minute strike be damned.

If they don’t get shredded in Montreal, they look like the same team they were when they played in Foxborough.

And if they didn’t give the football away in critical areas in San Jose, they enter the World Cup break tied on points with a team they have already defeated, but should have absolutely demoralized some 11 days prior.

Simply put, if they are able to put their feet down on the throats of certain teams and, to paraphrase the voice from Mortal Kombat, “FINISH THEM,” the Revolution would be in a much better position in the table than they are this morning, and wouldn’t have as many questions about their finishing and defense than they do this morning.

When that finally happens — when the Revolution finally emerge from their infancy and grow into cocky teenagers ready to go against the normal grain in MLS — then woebetide teams that have to face New England in their own buildings.