The New England Revolution approach their home opener against Toronto FC this Saturday evening keen to improve on an opening-day performance in Chicago that had positives and negatives in almost equal measure.
On the plus side, the Revs were comfortable in possession and created a string of goalscoring opportunities, despite fielding a starting XI that contained three rookies. However, the biggest minus for Steve Nicol's men was, of course, the fact that they could not overcome an early deficit and ultimately left Toyota Park with little more than a hard-luck story.
On Saturday, New England open their home schedule when they welcome the MLS new boys to Gillette Stadium, and Nicol is anxious for his side to improve on the promising signs shown seven days previously, although he admits that the result is the most important thing.
"I think it's the final pass, the final shot, header, whatever it may be," said Nicol on Friday. "It's all very well passing the ball well. That's great but we need to get results as well. We won't be complaining if we get a scruffy win. We would love to play great and score goals and look great but, at the end of the day, we'll take the win."
Having watched his side train four times this week, Nicol has had ample time to assess the fitness of Shalrie Joseph and Khano Smith, both of whom could return to the starting lineup on Saturday. The likely men to drop out are Gary Flood and Wells Thompson, though Nicol believes that such a circumstance will only reflect the growing strength in depth he has at his disposal.
"(Smith and Joseph) have had a good week of training, so if they do start, then (Flood and Thompson) will be disappointed but they got some good experience, which will only help us in the long run," said Nicol.
With more frigid weather in the Northeast, Nicol admitted that the continued cold temperatures are not conducive to assisting players in their rehabilitation. Joseph (calf) and Smith (hamstring) are the closest to coming back and Pat Noonan (sports hernia) could make the bench again but Michael Parkhurst (shoulder) and Daniel Hernandez (groin) remain out.
"With the cold, it does take longer for the muscles to get going so, not just guys coming back but guys who are fit and healthy, should make sure they stay that way by doing all their warmups properly," said Nicol. "You just have to be 100 percent on top of things and make sure you stretch properly, which you would like to think that they, as professionals, would anyway."
The Revolution have trained twice this week inside Gillette Stadium on the artificial turf that was installed last November. Few associated with the team are greatly enamored with the playing surface, although Nicol put a positive spin on things on Friday.
"It is what it is but I think that the players have handled it well and they look comfortable so we are just looking forward to playing tomorrow," he said.
In Toronto, the Revolution will face a club playing only its second-ever game. However, given his long friendship with Mo Johnston, the Canadian side's coach, Nicol knows what to expect from Saturday's opposition.
"A lot of the players he has don't have experience in MLS either so it is new to them but the one thing Mo makes sure of is that they are competitive, and judging by last week (a 2-0 loss to Chivas USA), they certainly were," said Nicol. "They had a couple of great chances before they went behind. We expect nothing other than a tough game tomorrow."
Preaching the importance of getting off to the right start at home, Nicol is taking nothing for granted. With Toronto featuring several players previously unknown to the league, the capacity for surprise is certainly there and the Revolution boss will remind his players that their opposition's threat must be taken seriously from the game's first whistle. A repeat of last week's beginning will not be tolerated.
"I think we just have to make sure that we are on top of things, both going forward and when we are defending," said Nicol. "We have to treat everybody with respect and try and weigh things up as quickly as you can. Try and spot people's strengths and weaknesses as early as you can and then go from there."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
