The New England Revolution take to the road for the first of three consecutive away games on Thursday when Steve Nicol's side, fresh off a 4-0 win against Toronto FC last Saturday, will face off against a Columbus Crew team that have opened their own season with two consecutive scoreless ties.
Last season, Columbus finished at the foot of the Eastern Conference but gave the Revolution fits at Crew Stadium, with a 1-1 tie in June followed by a 3-0 defeat of New England in September. Having seen his club fall to defeat in their opening away game this season -- at Chicago on April 7 -- the Revolution boss knows that his team faces another tough challenge to their quest to pick up their first road points of the season.
"(The Crew) are obviously defending well. The goalkeeper and back four are keeping things tight so we have to find a way of getting through them," said Nicol.
Although he has been impressed by the Crew's resilience early in the new season, particularly at Real Salt Lake last weekend, Nicol is hoping that his side can continue its own form Thursday by getting the basics right.
"Salt Lake is a tough place to go and play," said Nicol. "All the travel, it's a tough field early in the season, so that's not an easy place to go and get points. So to keep a clean sheet, they will be more than happy with that.
"I think that, honestly, we want to go [to Columbus] and try to play the way we have been playing. Get forward when we can and understand that defensively, from a team point of view when we don't have the ball, we have to get in quicker and be more solid because teams are more aggressive against you," Nicol continued. "After that, when we get the ball, we want to play."
Returning against Toronto to provide an effective buffer in defensive midfield was Shalrie Joseph. The Grenada international, who had been kept out of the season opener by a calf strain, admitted that being back on the field was ideal for him, particularly given his recent public discontent over his contract status.
"It was definitely good to get back on the field, playing and practicing," said Joseph. "It has been getting my mind off all the negotiations and stuff that has been going on. Just to get back with the team has been good."
Joseph continues to be upset that the Revs have not met his demands over a new deal and this week has voiced the possibility of refusing to play in the future if the situation is not sorted out to his satisfaction. However, for now, the 28-year-old is focused on continuing to help his team and remains a key part of a Revolution lineup that he believes has a real goal threat.
"From the first minute, I think we should get chances," said Joseph. "I think that, once we start creating chances, Taylor [Twellman] and Adam [Cristman] are playing well with each other and are going to start finishing. If we can get the ball wide to (Steve Ralston and Khano Smith) then they are going to open up the middle for us."
Against Toronto, the Revs raced into a two-goal lead through just the type of effective wing play from Smith and Ralston that Joseph alluded to. This opened up space in central areas for the likes of Andy Dorman, Twellman and Cristman. Nicol, who is set to name an unchanged side from that which started at Gillette Stadium, would like more of the same in Ohio.
"We can get at them wide and get some balls in the box. If we spread them out, we can try and get through the middle and just mix it up," he said. "I am sure they will know what we are trying to do but if we can lull them in and then use some other part of the field as well, then hopefully we can do that. The basics are going well and that is what we will keep doing."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
