The New England Revolution (1-2-1) returns to league play on Saturday, April 13th when they travel to CenturyLink Field to play the Seattle Sounders (0-3-1). Both teams will be desperate for a win since they both sit at the bottom of their respective conferences. If the Revs hope to get the better of the exchange, they will need to focus on organization in the attack.
The Revolution has been sound defensively this season with only two goals allowed through four games. Although the loss of Kevin Alston is likely to bring heavy emotions to the team, Chris Tierney or Darrius Barnes should be able to fill-in nicely. Tierney appears to be the favorite after playing 90 minutes in a bye week scrimmage against the New England Force. Furthermore, his ability to add width to the team while also whipping in crosses should make him an attractive option to Heaps.
With defense playing well, Saturday’s focus will be on the attack.
In an interview featured on the Midnight Ride Podcast, head coach Jay Heaps explained, “A lot of what I do in soccer (is) based upon free-flowing offense in basketball where guys are going to interchange, guys are going to move forward, guys are going to have to defend as well. That’s where Juan (Toja) and Lee (Nguyen), they can by dynamic. You can have Lee on the left, Lee on the right, Lee in the center. You give him some freedom as long as he can respond defensively.”
The quote highlights what the Revolution were trying to do in their most recent game against FC Dallas. In the game, the Revs came out in a 4-4-2 with Jerry Bengtson and Ryan Guy as strikers and Nguyen, Toja, Clyde Simms and Diego Fagundez in the midfield. The team didn’t stay this way for long with Guy sometimes dropping type while Nguyen and Toja marched forward.
If properly utilized, a fluid attack would confuse defenders and create goal scoring opportunities. In its current form, however, the offense looks disjointed with mistimed runs, wasted passes and missed marks. While more time, including two weeks of practice, may be the solution to fixing the attack, Heaps may also want to provide his players with a clearer definition of their roles. This may especially be true when the team goes into an intimidating location like CenturyLink Park.
