There is pressure on the New England Revolution to produce jogo bonito against FC Dallas on Friday night.
A Gillette Stadium crowd in excess of 50,000 spectators will back the Revolution, patiently awaiting Brazil-Venezuela as the nightcap and hoping to see entertaining soccer in the first match.
For New England, putting in a stylish performance would go a long way to cure the ills the team has faced at home this season. The Revs have only taken seven points from five home matches this season and want to improve that form.
"We've been doing well on the road, but we need to defend our home turf better than we have been for the fans that have been supporting us even though we haven't been playing too well," Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst said. "We'll have a bunch of new fans on Friday night. If we can gain some new support, it will help us out."
While New England will have more yellow and green clad fans in the stands, the team remains without starting forward Kenny Mansally (World Cup qualifying with The Gambia) and Taylor Twellman (ankle). Mansally will return once The Gambia concludes this slate of qualifiers against Algeria on June 20, but Twellman's return is hazier.
"He's slowly but surely getting there," Nicol said. "Having been out so long, he's a bit more sensible about it. He's not going to go gung-ho and then realize he can't."
Newly acquired midfielder Pat Phelan, who joined from Toronto FC on Wednesday, isn't expected to join the team until Monday and won't be available for the contest. Gary Flood (ankle) and Rob Valentino (hamstring) won't play either.
Adam Cristman will likely start after scoring last weekend, but most of the scoring burden will fall on the in-form Kheli Dube, who has three goals in his past three contests.
"After spending time with him, you're not that surprised," Nicol said. "But any striker will take three goals in three games. We're delighted with his form. We just have to keep it going."
If recent form against FC Dallas is any indication, the team should cure its home troubles. New England defeated FCD 1-0 at Pizza Hut Park on April 24 and hasn't lost to the Hoops since May 20, 2006 (4-0-0 in MLS play).
This FCD unit may provide a different challenge for Nicol's side than the one posed earlier in the season. Steve Morrow recently earned his walking papers and interim coach Marco Ferruzzi grasped the helm.
"They are a little bit more compact," Nicol said. "They haven't really changed the formation. Sometimes, they have four at the back and they send guys forward and sometimes they play with three. It's not a huge difference. It's just a little bit tighter."
Even though FCD may provide a stingier backline, Parkhurst thinks his team needs to keep an eye on Juan Toja, who didn't play in the first meeting, Kenny Cooper, and Dominic Oduro in order to emerge with three points.
"They throw a ton of guys forward every time," Parkhurst said. "We know what we're up against, but we're feeling confident that we can perform well on our home turf."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
