Our New England Revolution are in the midst of one of their busiest weeks of 2012. There is a similar week in middle of July, another as August turns to September. We’ll discuss the challenges of those stretches when we get closer. Aside from the task of competing in three games in 8 days the Revs were coming off of a bye week – and visiting New York we looked rusty or sleepy. New England returned home for Wednesday night’s match against Colorado. This time, and despite the short turn around between games, the Revs brought energy from the start and finished with our third win of the season. Saturday the Revs will play in Utah against a sharp RSL team who did not have a midweek game this week.
The Rebel Alliance Podcast usually records on Wednesday evening. This week Josh and I talked about the Revs busy week. At the start we unpacked some frustration from the performance against Red Bull. Towards the end we predicted what we thought might happen in Salt Lake. In the middle of that we spoke about the game aginst Colorado. TMR Podcast checked in from Gillete Stadium during halftime and again while the victory song was playing throughout Gillette Stadium. Visit our website, find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio to hear all that talk and the Revs official victory song.
While the story against New York featured Henry and his departure the Revs failed to convert any of the chances they generated. If the win in Los Angeles was an example of how a bright start can determine the game’s result, then the loss against New York is an example of the opposite – starting slow can doom a team. Three games in eight days and a three game losing streak meant that the line up was likely to change. There were only two changes from New York to the game game against Colorado. Benny Feilhaber started outside on the left of the midfield and Fernando Cardenas started on the right. Cardenas mostró que tiene ganas que jugar temprano en el partido. He chased Colorado, moved without the ball, and linked together short passes with his teammates. A big difference between coach Heap and Coach Nicol’s team that I have seen is the role of those outside midfielders. Under Nicol our wings were kept wide while under Heaps our midfielders will drift into the middle and even switch sides at times. Cardenas has shown himself to be a quick and attack oriented player. He contributed to our attack right away.
Our Revs carried the ball deep into Colorado’s half. We threatened to score in the opening minutes. Cardenas and Feilhaber both exchanged passes with our forwards and even put up shots. Colorado would score first, though. While most of the extended stretches of possession belonged to New England, Colorado was able to threaten our end on counter attacks. A 21st minute corner kick that came to the near post beat the Revs for the opening goal. Matt Reis hesitated, or perhaps shouldn’t have come off his line at all, because Castrillon’s headed ball went right into the goal. The Revs didn’t back down or become frantic. Our tying goal came from an interesting run of play. Center back Stephen McCarthy was the most advanced player and he got a head to a long pass from Clyde Simms. McCarthy’s headed ball went back towards the center where Saer Sene blasted it with a left footed side volley. As Jay Heaps has said all along, he wanted his team to attack and attack. Before the first half was over, Fernando Cardenas would unleash a shot from the right side, just inside the box, that Pickens reached with his fingertips but couldn’t stop. The second half featured more pressing and possesion for the Revolution. There were brief stretches when Colorado tried to influence the game but those periods of time ended up feelin more as if neither team was effective.
Kevin Alston’s technicolor epithet was caught by the cameras and he was still listed as only probable with an “illness.” Darrius Barnes came in and demonstrated his dependable defending. While Barnes isn’t as fast as Alston, his professional play, rarely out of position and always communicating with his teammates is reassuring. He may start in Salt Lake, though, it is hard to tell what kind of illness Alston was suffering from besides the fact that it affected his digestive tract. Lee Nguyen came in for Fernando Cardenas when Moreno and even Sene looked tired. Moreno did end up coming off for Bjorn Runstrom. Runstrom’s appearances in games haven’t suggested that he deserves more minutes, though we’ll see if Heaps rests Moreno. Salt Lake will be the third game in eight days and Moreno has yet to play an entire 90 minutes.
New England stopped a losing streak at three games, scored more than one goal for only the second time this season, and we saw how Cardenas can contribute when given extended minutes. When we visit Jason Kreis’s Real Salt Lake we will be tested. RSL again look like contenders with Beckerman and Morales in the center of the park, Saborio and Espindola on attack, and a tough, formidable defense. This game will test the Revs. Our endurance and athleticism at the end of a full week will be tested. Our offense has to generate chances and we likely have to score if we hope to leave Utah with any points. Going back to 2009, our last three visits to Utah resulted in total 14-3 in favor of RSL. Last season we had a man advantage and a two goal lead but only left with one point after a tie game, 3-3. Concentration and execution will be huge for the Revs. If we leave with a respectable result this team will have differentiated itself from the nightmarish showings from 2009 and 2010. I am not sure what to expect with likely tired legs, in an away game, against a team that has already played for years the style we hope to establish. We have taken three of the available nine points from this grueling stretch and three more will be on the table Saturday night. Let’s see how New England handles this challenge.
(image courtesy of David Silverman)
