Revs Have Reserve for United

New England Will Continue to Play with Mixed Lineup in Open Cup

August 12, 2008

By Sean Donahue

Who: New England Revolution at D.C. United
What: U.S. Open Cup Semifinal
Where: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

The New England Revolution used lineups made up mostly of reserves to win their first two U.S. Open Cup matches against teams from the USL-2. Now that the Revs have advanced to the semifinals, the team faces a tougher task going against MLS rival D.C. United on the road.

With a formidable opponent in the way of a spot in the U.S. Open Cup final for the second straight year, one might expect the Revolution to come out with their best available lineup. Revs’ coach Steve Nicol, however, seems to be keeping the faith in the players that got them this far in tournament and is hoping a few first teamers mixed in with the reserves will be enough for victory.

Doug Warren

Doug Warren will get the start in net for the Revolution. (Photo credit: Art Donahue)

With the busy schedule the on hand for the Revs lately, including the MLS regular season, Open Cup, the recently finished SuperLiga tournament, and the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League, it's easy to understand why Nicol would want to give some of his regular starters a day off.

"We've got a lot of tired players," said Nicol. "But in saying that, we won [the Open Cup] last year and we want to defend it. The team that goes out on the field is going to do that."

One of the regulars who will see action on Tuesday is Shalrie Joseph. The MLS All-Star First XI midfielder received a red card on Saturday against Chicago and will have to sit out this Saturday's league match against San Jose, but is available to play in the Open Cup. Other likely candidates to start are Taylor Twellman and Adam Cristman with fellow strikers Kheli Dube and Kenny Mansally both still out with injuries they picked up in last Tuesday's SuperLiga final.

"It's not a question of just taking guys out and resting them," said Nicol. "We want to put on the field what we think is going to be fit and able to do the job. That's what will do."

One change the Revs will definitely be making is net, where backup goalkeeper Doug Warren will start in place of Matt Reis. Warren played every minute of the Revs first two Open Cup matches this season, but hasn't seen the field in an MLS game since 2005.

"It's a good opportunity just to play a game," said Warren. "It's another opportunity to step on the field and compete regardless of the situation. Whether it's a trophy, whether it's our first team playing, it's an opportunity for me and the guys that step on the field to compete."

While D.C. has home field advantage and the Revs have had a busy schedule, New England actually does have an extra day rest for the match. While New England lost 2-1 to Chicago at home on Saturday, D.C. fell 4-1 in New York on Sunday and only has one day off between games. D.C. is also participating in the Champion's League and has an equally busy schedule going forward.

Two of D.C.'s starters, midfielders Joe Vide and Ivan Guerrero, are cup tied for this match having played for San Jose in an earlier round before being traded to D.C. midseason.

The two teams have faced once already this season, drawing 2-2 in Foxboro. They will again meet in Foxboro in league action next Wednesday. United holds the edge with a 24-17-7 regular season record against the Revs, but the only other time the teams met in the Open Cup, back in the 2001 semifinals the Revs emerged victorious.

"The big prize for us ultimately is MLS Cup," said Warren. "In terms of the coach's [ranking of] importance right now, I don't know if [the Open Cup] ranks so high up frankly. I think the MLS games right now and putting ourselves in a good situation in MLS and going forward towards the play-offs is the number one goal for us as a team. But for the players that go out there and step on the field [this match] is of the utmost importance. That is the way we have to look at it."

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