FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- While Houston assistant coach Steve Ralston's former colleagues in New England are excited to welcome him back to Gillette Stadium after his recent retirement, they aren't quite as sure about how to feel about his new colors.
Ralston will return to Gillette Stadium cloaked in enemy gear as he attempts to help Houston emerge from their nine-match winless streak and engineer the Revolution's downfall on Saturday night.
“It'll be really strange,” Revolution midfielder Pat Phelan told MLSsoccer.com on Friday about Ralston’s new colors. “I've seen some pictures on the MLS site and it just doesn't look right.”
Revolution boss Steve Nicol cheekily feigned ignorance about Ralston's return and breezily warned his former captain to keep himself in line on the sidelines.
“Who?” Nicol queried sarcastically with a laugh. “He's dead to us now. Dead. No, obviously, we knew he was coming, so we'll talk to him and see him and Dom [Dominic Kinnear, Houston’s head coach] tomorrow.”
Most of the discussions will likely take place after this pivotal match for two sides attempting to crawl their way back into the playoff race. New England enter the match in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and wants to keep the streak going with another three points against the Dynamo.
“We like the way we're playing and we feel as though we're carrying momentum.” Revolution defender Chris Tierney said. “I think we're confident that if we do things right, continue to defend and play the way we've been playing, then we should win the game.”
Tierney could feature at right back as part of a revamped back four ahead of the contest. Kevin Alston appeared on track to reclaim his place at right back after missing last Saturday's 1-0 win over D.C. United, but he tweaked his left hamstring in training on Thursday and did not practice on Friday. With three-fourths of the back line settled and Alston unlikely to play, Tierney may slot straight in at right back unless Nicol opts to rearrange things and slide Emmanuel Osei into the spot he filled against United.
Nicol is also expected to hand a full debut to Ilija Stolica after the Serbian forward featured as a substitute against United. Marko Perovic trained this week after missing the United match with a calf injury and could partner with the new striker up front.
The new-look striking duo will be expected to provide the offensive impetus necessary to dispatch the Dynamo and prolong the Revs' current run of form. New England start the weekend eight points out of the final playoff spot and must obtain results in order to make a push for the postseason.
With five of the next seven matches away from Gillette Stadium, the Revs need to hold serve at home, according to Phelan.
“We're on this run and we need the points, we really do,” Phelan said. “We can't give up points, especially at home. It's a huge game for us.”
