FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution captain Shalrie Joseph didn't mince words regarding the task ahead of his side in its final two games before the World Cup break.
With the Revolution mired in a seven-match winless streak (0-5-2) ahead of Saturday's home date with New York, Joseph believes his side needs to pick up two wins in its next two matches to stunt the negative momentum.
“We have two games before the break and we have to get six points from them,” Joseph said. “We'll worry about Seattle next week, but right now, we're at home. When we're at home, we play our best soccer. We have to push the tempo and be ready to jump all over them.”
Some of the cadence in the Revolution possession game returned when Joseph reappeared in the lineup in last Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Toronto FC. Joseph missed five matches due to a leave of absence and most of the Revolution's rhythm in possession left with him.
Although New England didn't find the scoresheet at BMO Field, Revolution forward Kenny Mansally said he noticed how much the team perked up in possession with Joseph back in the fold.
“Having Shalrie back, it's helped the team a lot,” Mansally said. “We're keeping the ball and moving it. We created some chances.”
Creating those opportunities and sticking them in the back of the net represent two separate tasks for a side that hasn't scored in two consecutive games. Revolution midfielder Sainey Nyassi said the Revs need to do a better job of converting in order to continue their 13-game regular season unbeaten streak over New York (7-0-6) and maintain their dominance over the Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium (9-1-3).
“We need to play as a team, fight for each other and capitalize on our chances,” Nyassi said. “Hopefully, Saturday will be a great game if we capitalize on our chances in the first ten minutes. We created two chances that we couldn't finish in the first 15 minutes [against Toronto FC]. Hopefully on Saturday, we can do that and we'll be fine.”
The same sentiment may not apply to Revolution defender Cory Gibbs after he strained his right hamstring during Thursday's training session. Gibbs is listed as doubtful for Saturday night's encounter. If he isn't able to take the field, Revolution coach Steve Nicol will have to assess his scant central defensive options – Darrius Barnes (right ankle sprain) and Emmanuel Osei (right leg infection) remain sidelined – to locate a partner for Pat Phelan in the heart of the Revolution back four.
If New England can find a way to overcome Gibbs' possible absence and prolong their dominance over the Red Bulls, Joseph said the road to recovery could start quickly in the wide-open Eastern Conference race.
“The East is wide open and there's a lot of games remaining,” Joseph said. “Other teams have been struggling a little bit. Once we start to find our groove, we'll be one of those teams up there near the top of the table.”
