After a two week hiatus, the New England Revolution will resume US Open Cup play when they host the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday. The Revs advanced in the tournament after a convincing 5-1 victory over their USL-Pro affiliate the Rochester Rhinos. The competition will now get tougher but that doesn’t mean that the Revs will lose sight of winning the Open Cup for a second time.
“Any competition we’re in, we’re trying to win,” Darrius Barnes explained. “As a player, you always want to compete and if you have a chance to win a cup (then) that’s what you want to do and that’s what you’re striving to do. As you can tell in other games, other teams are taking the tournament seriously too, putting out strong squads. Everyone is trying to go out and get it.”
The game comes during a busy stretch that will ask the Revs to play three times in eight days. As a result, the team will likely rely on players that aren’t regularly seeing first-team action. This can be a difficult situation for reserve players because they sometimes lack the sharpness and fitness required.
“It’s hard,” Chad Barrett said. “A lot of the guys, it take a little while to get going. That wasn’t the case in the first Open Cup game but we’re going to be playing much harder competition. This time we’re going to be at home, which will be nice. We’re looking forward to playing New York.”
The Revs have high ambitions about the Open Cup because of the amount of depth on the squad. The match against Rochester featured many potential starters, including Matt Reis, Kalifa Cisse and AJ Soares.
Barrett shared his excitement about the tournament by saying, “You can tell by the lineup that we put out in the last game that we’re definitely putting our best foot forward, we want to win this, we want to get in the Champion’s League.”
The Revs will be aided by Tyler Polak and Gabe Latigue who have been recalled from the Rhinos. Both players featured in the Revolution’s first Open Cup match with Latigue putting in a 90 minute shift at right back and Polak playing 67 substitute minutes at left back. It’s unknown what head coach Jay Heaps has in store for either player but the team is confident that that the loanees will be able to contribute if needed.
“I think that the loan stint has been beneficial for them,” Barnes said. “For them to be able to go out there and get that game experience and get time so that they are staying sharp on the ball has been huge. Last game, both of them came out and played great against Rochester so I think it’s definitely been beneficial. You know, they come in and they are part of this team.”
The fans will also play a big role since the Revs have chosen to play this home game at Harvard University’s Soccer Stadium instead of the usual Gillette Stadium. Although the 2,500 seat stadium is quaint, playing in Boston should attract a different crowd and increase the overall excitement.
Barrett commented, “When I used to play in Chicago, I used to play at Soldier Field and it was just an opportunity for people passing by (to think), ‘Oh, there’s a game, might as well go see it.’ We always had 15,000 fans but pretty soon they found it pretty hard to get fans because it’s out in the middle of nowhere. I think that you’re going to see a bunch of excitement. People don’t have to travel far. I think it’s going to be packed.”
What to Look for Against the New York Red Bulls
1. Expect a big performance from a reserve player. With so much competition on the roster, it’s important for fringe players to make the most of their opportunities. Barrett was able to make a statement during the Revs’ first Open Cup game when he provided an assist and a goal. The impressive performance caught the attention of Heaps who used Barrett as a substitute in the following two league games. There are a number of players, including Soares, Dimitry Imbongo and Andy Dorman, that could use Wednesday as a request for more playing time.
2. The result could depend on the Red Bulls’ lineup. While the Revs are amidst a busy stretch, the Red Bulls have a schedule of leisure since they didn’t play last weekend and won’t play this weekend. This type of schedule would imply that the Red Bulls should be fielding a strong squad. However, the game is on turf, which likely rules out Thierry Henry, and is taking place during World Cup Qualifying, which means no Tim Cahill or Roy Miller. Furthermore, many of the team’s key players, including Jamison Olave, Fabian Espindola and Juninho, have struggled to stay healthy this year. While the Revs have some impressive depth, there’s no doubt that the club would rather not face New York’s first team.
3. The focus is on the Revolution defense. Against the Rhinos, the Revs largely used a backline that featured Polak, Soares, Barnes and Latigue. While this defensive unit did well to earn a victory against the Rhinos, it probably won’t have the chemistry or experience needed to shut down the Red Bulls. Heaps might want to consider pairing Stephen McCarthy with Soares and moving Barnes to the outside. If Heaps wants to be more experimental, he could ask Ryan Guy or Cisse to play defense. Regardless of Heaps’ decision, the defense will need good communication and cohesion if it’s going earn a result against a talented New York squad.
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