Revs Try for Four Straight

Battle United on Primetime

May 29, 2008

By Sean Donahue

Who: DC United at Revolution
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN 2)

D.C. United and the New England Revolution fought for dominance in the Eastern Conference in recent years and in doing so have produced some memorable games. This year, however, while the Revs are in a three-way tie with the most points in MLS, D.C is stuck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with only three wins in 10 games.

Sainey Nyassi will have to play a big role Thursday. (Photo credit: Joyce Furia).

An offseason that saw them sign a designated player in Marcelo Gallardo also saw starting goalkeeper Troy Perkins leave for a Norwegian team, playmaker Christian Gomez traded to Colorado, and defensive midfielder Ben Olsen to a potential career ending ankle injury. Despite bringing in some foreign talent, D.C. has so far been unable to recover from the losses of so many key players.

D.C. did finally get their first win of the month last weekend in a 3-2 comeback victory over Toronto FC. They'll face a tough task on Thursday night in Foxboro if they wish to put back-to-back wins together. New England returns home on a three-game winning streak that saw them jump to the top of the MLS standings. With a two goal home win over San Jose sandwiched between two one goal road victories over Chivas USA and Columbus, the Revs are on their best streak of the season.

The team, however, has definitely missed the services of star striker Taylor Twellman, who has missed all but 45 minutes this season with injuries and is expected to be out against DC as well. Adding to their problems up top is the loss of Kenny Mansally to international duty with Gambia.

Coach Steve Nicol will again have to adjust his once injury plagued lineup to either find a partner for Kheli Dube up top or change the formation. Adam Cristman would seem the most direct replacement for Mansally, but Nicol could also move Sainey Nyassi up top or change to a 3-4-3 formation similar to the one used in the victory over Chivas.