Our New England Revolution host the New York Red Bulls this weekend. NYRB are run by Europeans and their two highest profile players are internationals from France and Mexico. The Revs are run by local guys who put in time at the club and arguably we don’t have any high profile players, certainly not the international profiles that Henry and Marquez have. More relevant to this weekend’s game, the standings provide additional contrasts. This season the team from New Jersey has consistently found ways to win with and without their recognizable name players.
The first meeting between these two teams in New York was a game with and without Henry. He bossed the field as the Revs seemed to start the game half asleep. Henry used a moment of brilliance to send a long-range rocket in for a goal despite Stephen McCarthy hanging all over him. Then Henry’s hamstring was injured and he was subbed out. After that 20-30 minutes of Red Bull dominance the Revs awoke and began pressuring, though we never scored and left with a 1-0 loss. NYRB’s season had been a mixed bag up to that point, and surprisingly their team managed to string together positive results without their stars.
New England is undefeated in our last four games, though that disguises several disappointing results. We are also winless in our last three games, and have needed goals after 90 minutes to secure those ties in the last two weeks. The persistence displayed in earning those results is a great development this season: we are an attacking team whose opponents must beware our scoring. Unfortunately, falling behind as we have recently against Toronto and Seattle reveals that our defense is unsteady, to say the least. It is hard to tell which of our current challenges could help turn our fortunes at this point. Many Revs fans have called for tighter defense and minimizing miscues to limit our opposition’s scoring opportunities – that’d be great and quite welcome. A more direct way to shift momentum and influence the outcome of games would be to score early and improve our possession. There is truth in the adage that a powerful offense makes for a good defense – it can also inspire confidence and assertiveness along the backline when the entire team is clicking.
This franchise from just outside New York City has won two fewer trophies than our Revs’ single US Open Cup (2007) and solitary Superliga (2008). Thierry Henry’s addition has vaulted them into discussions of contenders but so far not yielded any hardware. While typical starters Holgerson, Pearce, both defenders, and Taino, a midfielder, are the only significant inclusions on the most recent NYRB injury report, manager Hans Backe has suggested that both Henry and Marquez may miss this match. As I suggested earlier, this Red Bulls team has been pulling down results without stars this season, though in their last five they have three ties and only one win. Dax McCarty at defensive midfielder and Dane Richards’ speed from wherever he lines up could be troubling. McCarty’s play has quietly garnered more attention lately while Richards’ speed favors the Red Bulls against our fullbacks, Lechner and Tierney, with Alston not yet healthy. Their rookie goal keeper, Ryan Meara has played above expectations, too. I also expect Joel Lindepere and Jan Gunnar Soli to contribute to any plays that threaten to turn the game in Red Bulls favor. Even with Henry out, Kenny Cooper will still play at the sharp end of the Red Bull attack.
Our New England Revolution are more healthy than NYRB, though we will have our share of absences. I’ve already mentioned that Kevin Alston probably needs more time to heal. Two other typical starters, Shalrie Joseph and Jose Moreno are listed as doubtful, while Kelyn Rowe was most recently listed as probable. I suspect that none will play, though a late appearance (with proper medical clearance) by Rowe shouldn’t be a surprise. If the paperwork waiting game payout in our favor I expect that Jay Heaps will start our new, 25 year old, Designated Player and target forward: Jerry Bengtson. All signs point to more significant contribution from him after the Olympics and in future years, but if he is eligible I don’t see how coach keeps him on the bench. With Shalrie out our midfield and formation choices are clarified. I do like Saer Sene playing from further back – another reason to love the Bengtson signing – but he didn’t help Lechner out much with defending on the right side. The Supa Captain’s injury means that a 4-4-2 with Clyde Simms and Benny Feilhaber in the middle is likely. If Bengtson’s paperwork hasn’t cleared then Brettschnieder will start alongside Sene. No matter what line up and formation we see from New England, I am expecting more than one goal from our Revs this weekend.
On The Rebel Alliance Podcast this week I predicted a close game with each team trading goals and New England grabbing a last minute goal for the third week in a row. A 2-1 win instead of a late tie would be a welcome result. It is too late to get on the Midnight Riders bus from Cambridge, but it isn’t too late to visit their ‘open house’ tailgate. Given that it will be Diego Fagundez bobble-head night, we should expect him to earn some minutes, if his tying goal last week wasn’t enough. This is another game that has potential for ‘statement game’ written all over it. Ties and the single point they bring won’t be enough to push our Revs into the playoffs, so we’ll have to start winning games again.
C’Mon you Revs! Defend New England!
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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