Revs Try to Get Back on Track

Only MLS to Concentrate on Going Forward

September 6, 2008

By Sean Donahue

Who: New England Revolution at Columbus Crew
What: MLS Regular Season
Where: Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (TV38/HDNet)

After being upset on Tuesday at Gillette Stadium by an embarrassing 4-0 score line to Joe Public F.C. -- the fifth place team in Trinidad and Tobago's Pro League -- and missing out on the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League as a result, the New England Revolution have a chance to regain some respect and first place with a much needed win in Columbus Saturday.

Chris Albright is one of the few healthy players on the Revs. (CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com)

Through all competitions the Revs are just 1-5-3 in their last eight matches. That streak started with the team winning the SuperLiga, but more recently saw them crash out of the U.S. Open Cup in the Semifinals and Champions League in the Preliminary Round. Thanks to the recent poor form, the Revs now only have MLS play to worry about and all that fixture congestion they frequently complained about is about to end.

From the beginning the team has said their first priority is winning the MLS Cup and while their recent run of poor form has still left them in good position, currently second place with eight games remaining, their recent play and injury problems have left more than a few question marks going forward.

Up top, Kheli Dube is likely out for at least another month, while Adam Cristman recently underwent season-ending surgery. Taylor Twellman is likely to miss at least Saturday's match and Kenny Mansally is still questionable, as is captain Steve Ralston. While with the exception of Cristman, all of these players should be fully healthy by the time of the playoffs, none of them have seen enough minutes up top together to really form a good partnership and that could prove costly as the competition intensifies.

Newcomer Gabriel Badilla also still needs time to adjust to the Revolution backline and his frequent call-ups to the Costa Rican National Team during World Cup Qualifying resulting him to miss training and matches (he's unavailable Saturday) won't help. The frequent switching between a 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 dictated by injuries and opponents could also make it harder, depending on which system Nicol chooses to stick with when some of his forwards are healthy.

Regardless, Saturday night's match represents a big opportunity for the Revs. Not only would a win do a lot of good for confidence going forward, but it would also allow the Revs to leapfrog Columbus in the standings and take back over first place.