FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In their three SuperLiga appearances, the New England Revolution have turned Gillette Stadium into a house of horrors for Mexican opponents.
Eight Mexican teams have traveled to Foxborough in search of a victory and none has succeeded. Seven of those teams departed with a loss, while one fortunate club – Puebla in this year's semifinals – crashed out on penalty kicks after securing a draw over 90 minutes.
The template for most of those results – an earnest effort by the Revolution against a visiting club not accustomed to the rigors of playing against a well-drilled outfit on an artificial surface – will have to apply once again on Wednesday night.
READ:New England - Morelia match preview
Fortunately for the Revs, the task against a Morelia side – one already dispatched 1-0 during Group B play in the last of six victories over Mexican sides by that score line – compares well with the challenges offered by other Mexican adversaries.
“There are a lot of similarities between most of the teams,” New England coach Steve Nicol told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “The biggest difference is in the individuals.
"Obviously, the teams at the top of the division are on top of their game and Morelia is doing pretty well in the league, so they're on top of things. We need to make sure we're tight and disciplined, but, at the same time, we have to try and put pressure on them.”
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The balancing act is a difficult dance the Revs have practiced frequently over the past few seasons, as goals have increased in scarcity. With the margin for error significantly reduced by the Revolution's inability to come from behind or score in bunches, the secret to success rests with engineering a way to stifle Morelia's passing approach without lapses in attention or concentration.
[inline_node:316554]“They love keeping the ball, just like any other [Mexican] team,” New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph said. “We're going to have to stay focused, stay concentrated and just to try to limit their chances and their creativity throughout the midfield.”
Discipline and organization will resume the key roles they have played in past games against Mexican opposition.
Morelia will almost certainly enjoy the majority of the possession against a New England side that hasn't kept the ball well all season, so the Revs must drop into smart spots and shun opportunities to stretch their compact shape to chase the ball unnecessarily.
“The biggest thing for us is that we don't dive in and we stay on our feet,” Nicol said. “Their movement is good. They'll try to play one-twos anywhere on the field. They'll be sharp, so it's important that we don't get out of position. Once we get the ball and we're putting pressure on them, we [have to] try to take advantage of some situations.”
While the task may appear daunting, New England have excelled in this situation during their past three appearances in the tournament. Morelia will offer a more formidable test than they did a month ago after cobbling together a strong start to the 2010 Apertura campaign, but Nicol believes his players can take solace from the fact that they have dispatched similar foes with regularity in this competition.
“Just the fact that we've done well against Mexican teams in general [helps us out],” Nicol said. “Clearly, they've played more games now, so they'll be quicker, faster, stronger and sharper. We'll have to make sure we're ready for that.”
