On Saturday, April 20th, the New England Revolution (1-2-2) will travel down I-95 to face the New York Red Bulls (2-4-2). The game will be played with heavy hearts since the Revs have recently faced two tragedies in the form of Kevin Alston’s chronic myelogenous leukemia diagnosis and the Boston Marathon bombings. Despite all of this, the club will hope to record their first ever win at Red Bull Arena with an increase in chemistry and the support of fans.
Going into the game, head coach Jay Heaps knows that his team is dealing with a lot. The former player stated, “We have our own situations here. On the pitch in terms of, like you said, struggling offensively and things we’re dealing with away from the pitch in terms of Kevin Alston and, of course, the Marathon. For us, we have to have a laser focus on what we’re trying to do and what we’re going to do in this game. Our preparation this week has been very good.”
After having Monday off, the players worked hard to prepare for their next game with the understanding that the team needs to get better. Heaps summarized last weekend’s tie against the Seattle Sounders by saying it was` “a good result, not a great performance.” The most frustrating thing about the Revs most recent outing was the offense, who, for the second time this season, didn’t record a single shot on goal. Despite the struggles, Heaps remained optimistic that the goals will come once the chemistry is right.
Heaps explained, “We have a great chemistry defensively. You can see that everyone is defending with great energy and great effort but now we have to find a way to score and link together in the right way.”
One player that showed great chemistry with his teammates last season is forward Saer Sene. In his first year in Major League Soccer, the Frenchman scored a team-leading 11 goals before ending his season early to undergo ACL surgery. Last weekend, Sene returned to the field as a substitute in the 74th minute and Heaps was upbeat about his star striker’s progress.
“Each day we sit down and talk about his progression and so far it’s been good,” Heaps said “He got his 20 minutes last game and we’ll see what he gets weekend but it should be an increase.”
Sene, whether a starter or a substitute, will be a useful weapon since his pace and skill will cause problems for New York players that have already played one game this week. On Wednesday, the Red Bulls lost to Sporting KC by a score line of 1-0. The final result does little to represent the action in the match as defender Jamison Olave left in the 33rd minute with an injury and free kick specialist Juninho received a red card in the final minutes. Despite facing a team that recently lost and has a number of fitness issues, Heaps remains focused.
When asked if this is the best time to face the Red Bulls, Heaps said, “You want to play a team after they’ve won or loss? I mean, it can go either way, right? Confidence can carry or they can feel that they want to be better on Saturday.”
The Revolution will be attentive and ready to handle whatever challenges the Red Bulls have in store and that includes star attraction Thierry Henry.
Heaps claimed, “Clearly Henry is a strength and someone who, to me, is playing really well right now and played well (on Wednesday). When someone is playing well you have to be mindful of that and prepare for that. Once you go back to preparation, it’s about how to deliver on the field. We try to figure out where they’re strong and then we play our game.”
The Revs will hope to play their game on Saturday when they will be representing their team and their region. With so many tragedies surrounding the club in recent weeks, there will be many fans that will look to the Revs as a way providing relief.
Heaps said, “It’s an honor to go down there and represent this area. We’re New England. We’re Boston. We are personally touched by a couple of tragedies. For us, it’s key that we go down there and play for what’s on the front of our jersey, which is our region, our area and carry that proudly. That means getting on the field and giving it everything you have.”
Three Things to Watch for Against the Red Bulls
1. The Red Bulls have some lineup uncertainty. Head coach Mike Petke will have to make at least one change from Wednesday’s lineup since Juninho has received an automatic suspension for kicking the ball at Jimmy Nielsen when the goalkeeper was preparing to take a free kick. The suspension will likely increase the burden placed on players like Dax McCarty and Roy Miller while also allowing someone like Johnny Steele the chance to play. Petke might be forced to make more changes since the Red Bulls have struggled with fitness this year. At various points, Tim Cahill, Fabian Espindola and Henry have missed matches. If the loaded schedule is too much for these players and Petke is forced to shuffle his lineup then the Revs will want to take advantage of a weakened squad.
2. The defense will be tested. Despite some injury concerns, it’s important to recognize that the Red Bulls have a wealth of talented and creative players. The pure goal scoring ability of Espindola and the veteran savvy of Henry will make this one of the most challenging games that the Revs will face all year. Against Seattle, defensive mistakes went unpunished due to the solid play of Bobby Shuttleworth and Jose Goncalves. One has to wonder, however, if more experienced forwards would have put the ball in the back of the net. Henry currently leads the league with 32 shots (10 on goal) so Shuttleworth and company will need to be on their toes. Communication and composure will be key this weekend if the Revs hope to collect their fourth shutout of the season.
3. There has to be shots. The Revs are currently last in the league when it comes to goals scored (1), shots taken (37) and shots on goal (10). While these numbers are slightly skewed by the fact that the team has played the fewest amount of games in the league (five), they also tell the story of a club that’s afraid to shoot. If the Revolution wants to break their scoring drought, they need to be bold with the ball and that extends past the strikers. There are a number of players, including Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe, who can launch long range shots. Furthermore, the wide play of Andrew Farrell and Chris Tierney will be important as a way of spreading the field and getting the ball to Jerry Bengtson.
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
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