It was a bittersweet return to action for New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman in the Revs' 2-1 win against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center on Sunday afternoon.
Twellman, who had been sidelined all season after undergoing knee surgery in early April to repair a tear in his right meniscus, came on in the second half against Chivas USA. Less than 15 minutes after making his season debut he had returned to his scoring ways, racing to collect a long through ball from Steve Ralston on the back end of a one-two and powering home a low drive.
Then, minutes later, Twellman fell to the ground near midfield clutching his right ankle. He was tended to by New England's trainers and eventually returned to the field to finish out the match, albeit with a noticeable limp.
"I probably shouldn't have stayed in," Twellman said. "I was fortunate enough to put one in the net and unfortunate to get hurt again. It's frustrating to work so hard to come back in four weeks and have a lot of energy ... then hurting my foot. It's kind of a bummer."
The extent of the injury remains unclear. What was clear, however, was the immediate impact that Twellman and Steve Ralston had in their first match together all season. Ralston made his second consecutive appearance after missing five matches with an injury he picked up in the season opener.
Sharlie Joseph started the Twellman goal, knocking forward to Twellman. With his back to goal, he laid it off to Ralston in the center circle, then spun around to chase down the high ball Ralston sent over the Chivas USA defense before shooting past Brad Guzan in the Chivas USA goal.
"You'd never know that he'd been out for six weeks when he comes in and bangs one home," said Ralston of Twellman.
Revs coach Steve Nicol was pleased to see his two key players back on the field.
"Ralston adds that extra bit of quality, someone who can control the ball and pass the ball," he said. "And, you look for your striker to hold the ball and score goals and (Twellman) did both today. He could've had a hat trick but he hasn't kicked a ball for two months."
Shalrie Joseph was equally pleased to see his teammates back in the lineup as it removed some of the added pressure from his midfield role.
"Ralston makes a huge difference because he's definitely one of the best -- if not the best -- passer in the league. We tried to get him involved and get him the ball early," Joseph said. "And, Taylor is the best goal scorer in the league and having him back gives us the confidence we need up top."
The Revs performance was a drastic improvement from their last match, a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Fire.
"It was huge that we got three points today after our embarrassing performance last weekend," Joseph said.
The main difference in the matches, according to Ralston, was the team's organization.
"We were really organized today. Our mindset was to get behind the ball and get in good spots. Last week we were going forward and got caught a few times," Ralston said. "We definitely needed this win today. We haven't played our best all year."
Danny Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
