Last week New England was disarmed by Chivas USA. This weekend they will welcome the Colorado Rapids to Gillette Stadium. The Rapids are a tough, hardnosed team and the reigning MLS champions. Last week New England started slowly and few players put together a solid 90 minutes. The Rapids are coming off a well earned win on Wednesday evening in Houston which will only increase the confidence they are carrying this season from last year’s MLS Cup. Expect a physical game in which a tackle or winning a 50-50 ball could lead to the game defining play.
Colorado has a powerful set of towering forwards. Omar Cummings was injured in the Houston game, though Connor Casey is expected to return to action against the Revolution. He will likely join Ireland international Caleb Folan up front. Former Rev Jeff Larentowicz brings his memorable style of play to the middle of the Rapids’ line up with Pablo Mastroeni. All of these players present difficult physical match ups for most teams. Individual performances and one on one play will have an impact on the outcome of this game. Shalrie Joseph can match any physical play. Benny Feilhaber and Shalrie both have to concentrate on staying composed and advancing the Revolution attack. If the Revolution get caught up in trading tackles with the Rapids or debating decisions with the officials then the Rapids will have won the mental battle.
New England will have to connect passes to simply keep Colorado off the ball. If the Revs aspire to win this game then effective passing is the key to unlock Colorado’s defense. Every single player who carries the New England badge onto the field on Saturday night will have to work hard physically in win tackles, work hard mentally to stay composed, and to work alertly to make smart, possession oriented passes. The key to this game will be composure. I suspect that the first team to lose their composure or get distracted by tough tackles or the referee’s decisions will concede goal scoring opportunities. I would prefer to score early and many more goals than Colorado. I would be satisfied with a hard fought 0-0 tie if there are no ejections. I hope that we avoid the breakdowns we suffered last week. While some faltering should be expected as this New England finds its feet and refines its character, this roster has strengths all over the field. It is now up to the players to bring consistent focus and determination to their play and to work together.
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
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