On Thursday, May 1st, the New England Revolution (2-3-3) played the Portland Timbers (3-1-5) to a scoreless draw. In what has become customary for the Revs this season, the favorable result was driven by the team’s youth.
For the second straight week, the Revolution utilized a lineup where every player was under the age of 30. In fact, the average age of the starting lineup for both weeks was 25 with 29 year-old Kalifa Cisse serving as the team elder. No coach in Major League Soccer has put a bigger premium on youth than Revolution head coach Jay Heaps. The players have returned this faith by putting together solid performances and slowly developing into team leaders.
On Thursday, Lee Nguyen, 26, and Kelyn Rowe, 21, were once against asked to lead the attack from the center of the midfield. While Nguyen’s performance was largely forgettable, Rowe shined for the second straight week. The California native traveled from side-to-side as a way of supporting players and facilitating the attack. Rowe’s finest moment came in the 92nd minute when shot from 20 yards out and forced a save from Donovan Ricketts. Rowe was equally important in the 72nd minute when he got the ball out of pressure which helped set-up Saer Sene’s long range blast.
The team’s youngest player, 18 year-old Diego Fagundez, also delivered some fine moments as seen in the 42nd minute when Fagundez drifted from his position on the right to combine with Jerry Bengtson and give Ryan Guy a prime opportunity. Guy’s shot forced a save from Ricketts and provided the Revs with hope just before halftime.
The offense’s moments of brilliance were outshined by the team’s usual solid defensive play. Going into the game, there were a lot of questions about how the backline would perform without Andrew Farrell, AJ Soares, Kevin Alston or Chris Tierney. With Jose Goncalves (27) leading, the makeshift backline, which also featured Stephen McCarthy (24), Darrius Barnes (26) and Bilal Duckett (24), kept the ball out the net despite some shaky moments.
A big part of the Revs earning their fifth shutout of the year was 25 year-old goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. The New York native made a career-high nine saves while also serving as a vocal leader that organized the defense. Thursday’s game was Shuttleworth’s sixth of the season and it’s clear that his confidence is growing with each passing moment. The same player that received groans from fans when he was resigned on April 11th is now receiving well-deserved praise. Shuttleworth’s great positioning and quick reflexes will make it hard for veteran Matt Reis to regain his starting spot.
The young athletes have been important to the Revs since the beginning of the season. Rowe currently leads the team with two assists and has made 13 shots on goal, which passes him at third best on the team. The 27 year-old Jerry Bengtson is tied with Nguyen and Fagundez for the team’s Golden Boot award. Meanwhile, Shuttleworth has made a team-leading 24 saves which is good for ninth in MLS.
Having a team full of talented youth is encouraging for fans who were once subjected to aging players like Didier Domi, Ousmane Dabo and Edgaras Jankauskas. As long as these players continue to develop and overcome any slumps, the future of the Revolution looks very bright.
3 Observations and Revelations
1. Thursday’s game confirmed the usefulness of the new loan system. When the Revs announced their partnership with Rochester Rhinos, there were many questions about how the system would work and if it would be successful. Tierney’s suspension and the long injury list forced Heaps to test the system by recalling Duckett on Tuesday. While Duckett was clearly the weakest link along the backline, he performed well enough to earn the shutout. Duckett’s usefulness can largely be credited to his regular playing time with the Rhinos. Playing five USL-Pro games allowed the loanee to maintain fitness and stay sharp. While Duckett has now returned to Rochester, he, along with the experiment’s other participants, knows that he is only a phone call away from rejoining the first team.
2. Cisse needs to remain healthy. After starting in the season opener, Cisse took a three game break before returning to the starting lineup against the Seattle Sounders. It looked as though Cisse had overcome fitness concerns since he would then make four consecutive starts. On Thursday, however, the former Bristol City player was removed at halftime in favor of Scott Caldwell. Heaps made no mention of injury and claimed that the adjustment was made to insert fresh legs. While this may be entirely true, the Revs need a defensive midfielder that can play the majority, if not all, of a game’s 90 minutes. Making a substitute at halftime because a player is feeling tired is a waste, even if the team is experiencing a busy stretch. The move prevented Heaps from adding an attack-minded player, like Andy Dorman, Juan Toja or Sainey Nyassi, as a late-game attempt to capture all three points.
3. Maybe Sene will bring the best out of Bengtson. There is no question that Bengtson has been a frustrating player for Revs fans. The designated player has only contributed three goals in 20 appearances and has gone through periods where he looks totally disinterested in playing. Plenty of excuses have been made about why Bengtson has been unable to replicate his national team form but few answers have been provided. Perhaps the answer will come in the form of Sene’s return. The Frenchman has now collected 97 minutes as he inches closer to returning to full health. In his brief appearances, Sene has looked lively by taking on players, making important runs and providing lethal shots. His shot total is particularly impressive since he has already collected four shots on goal which is good for third on the team after Bengtson (6) and Nguyen (5). The return of Sene will take pressure off Bengtson which could help the Honduran find his scoring touch. Furthermore, the two strikers could work well together like they did in 84th minute of the Portland game.
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
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