As the busiest period of the regular season draws to a close, the New England Revolution are keen to ensure that Tuesday night's 3-2 reverse in Colorado was a minor blip and will look to turn that around Saturday in Chicago.
By the end of the game at Toyota Park, the Revs will have played seven times in 21 days. Thus far, the stretch has yielded an acceptable 2-1-3 record and seen New England climb the Eastern Conference rankings to its current position of second. Another favorable result on Saturday, against a side that has just one fewer point, would set Steve Nicol's side up nicely for the remainder of the season.
The Revolution have been boosted in the last two weeks by the return of Clint Dempsey, who has scored three goals in as many games. The World Cup star has formed a dangerous partnership with another who has three goals in three games -- Taylor Twellman, from whom Nicol has seen a real upturn in form in recent games.
"(Taylor) has had the benefit of Clint being back more than anybody," said Nicol. "When Pepe (Jose Cancela) was playing up top, or Willie Sims or Kyle (Brown), the two young guys are still gaining experience, while Pepe is more of an 'in-between' guy connecting midfield and attack. Taylor has had the burden of being on his own most of the time. I'm sure he would be the first to tell you that it is good to have a partner."
Between them, Twellman and Dempsey have scored the Revolution's last six goals and given the side a cutting edge that has not always been present this season. Indeed, as was the case against the Rapids, the form the duo has shown has made Nicol reassess his game plans while the action is taking place in front of him.
"We started the game with just Taylor up top. With the amount of games we have had and being at altitude, one thing we were concerned about was their legs," Nicol said. "After watching the start of the game, we were trying to get forward as much as (Colorado) was. We just didn't have anybody other than Taylor. The boys were showing the attitude that they wanted to get forward so we changed to 4-4-2 and got after them."
The move paid dividends as Dempsey and Twellman both scored, with the latter man injured in the act. It looked initially as though Twellman had take a blow to the stomach from Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon, but it later emerged that it was his right wrist that had taken the force of the impact. X-rays proved to be negative and Twellman is expected to start against the Fire.
The last meeting between the two sides saw the Revs score twice in second-half stoppage time to force a remarkable 3-3 tie. On that occasion, the offense bailed out a defense that had been exposed by the threats possessed by the home side and the concession of three further goals to the Rapids makes clear the area New England needs to work on, particularly given the threat posed by Chicago.
"Both teams know each other pretty well and the one thing you know is that it's going to be tough and it's going to be tight. Both teams will stand their ground and, if there is any ground gained, they'll have to fight for it," Nicol said.
The Revolution are likely to be unchanged from the side that began Tuesday's game at Invesco Field. Avery John is back from suspension but James Riley, who Nicol said was excellent in his comeback against Colorado, will likely retain his place in central defense, with Tony Lochhead on the left. John will have to settle for a spot on the bench, alongside Cancela, who has lost his place after a quiet period, coupled with the return of Dempsey.
Meanwhile, with the international transfer window set to open in just more than a week, Nicol admitted that he is looking to bolster his squad. Although it is somewhat ironic that at the time he is able to go shopping more and more of his regulars are getting closer to full fitness, he points out that his squad can only benefit from having increase depth.
"Marshall (Leonard) is out for the rest of the season and Khano (Smith) is just trying to get himself back to 100 percent so that takes away," the Revolution boss said. "At the same time, the young guys have come in and done a great job."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
