Revs get to play another team on a short turnaround with DC playing Houston Wed. Revs for the most part are healthy and in good form Giving up late goals last week hopefully will sober them up from the euphoria of scoring lots of goals DC most always plays us tough We can count on Olson to send his troops out hacking to slow down our offense I like our chances in this one Discuss
On one hand, what goes up must come down. On the other hand, I don't see any staleness at this point. They have been sparkling recently. I'm curious about the mindset of the players who aren't seeing the field recently, including - perhaps especially - JoGo. Also wondering about Shuttleworth. While it's hard to get used to the idea of a DCU team not built on the model of the Hansen brothers, they are not in fact leading the league in fouls committed. DCU is a team that has been more talented than the sum of its parts. They have a winning record this year, but I haven't seen enough of them to get why they have improved - In fact the only time I saw them play, they were awful. Experience says they will try to pack it in, and hack anyone within 10 feet of the ball, but I'm willing to be surprised.
JoGo has been back training for more than a week. If he's fit I think he plays. Question then is who sits? As have been said in other threads--players pushing each other for playing time is key to keeping everyone sharp and hungry. This team has never had this much depth--we could use more but it better than I've seen in thpast Depending on just how serious his concussion was he could get the start but I think Knighton gets the start
When it comes to concussions, I would really really want them to be sure he's rested thoroughly. If Knighton keeps up his play, then there's no reason to rush Shuttleworth in early. Of course, Shuttleworth may be inclined to hurry things if he think's his starting spot is in jeopardy. Other than that, excited for Saturday!
Hoping for a 10-spot. But even that wouldn't be enough against DC. Revs are 3-0-1 at home, with a 9-0 GD.
I'm going to be a pessimist and say this one will be the streak-breaker. DC plays ugly, crummy soccer, and the Revs have always had a tendency to either up or down to their competition, and DC is the latter. Recent game history has also shown DC is a struggle for the Revs, for whatever reason. I'm hoping I'm wrong and the Revs pull out the win, but I'm pretty sure either way it's going to be tough to watch. Lineup-wise, I think JoGo is back, with the only change being Farrell moves back to RB.
Yeah, I would have to guess that when he does start again, Farrell goes back outside, so it's a choice between Tierney and Barnes. Until Alston started over Tierney, I would have said it would have been a lock that Barnes sits and Tierney plays, but now I'm not so sure. Whatever happens, I'm sure TT is paying attention to how the team handles it. I have said I was never that enamored with Shuttleworth coming into the season, but I only remember seeing one goal he's allowed that he should have had, and while it's very possible I could have forgotten another, there have not been more than a couple. Assuming he's only a relatively short time, I think he's played well enough that he would go back to starting when he returns. One other question, is Rowe ready to start, or will he come off the bench again? If he does start, I would hope they only have him go 60 or 70, he's missed a good bit of time, so I'd think he's not fit to go 90, and I'd prefer they not put him in a situation where he pushes his hamstrings too far. One other question, is Rowe ready to start
Hate to tinker with success but I see a few changes being made if Goncalves is back and Rowe can go 90. ........................................Shuttle or McKighton depending on Shuttleworths boo boo head Farrell..................Soares...............Goncalves...........Tierney ..........................................Dorman Bunbury...............Rowe.......................Nguyen........Fagundez ............................................Mullins DC looks to be 1-2-1 on the road. Revs will avenge their earlier loss down in DC. 2-1 Revs
I agree on both counts. But, OTOH, I thought Philly would be a pretty negative game also and look what happened. Still, on the road, I expect DCU to defend, defend, counter, defend ... The only way it will open up like the last two is if we get the first goal reasonably early. Tierney just came off a goal and an assist (which forced Philly to open up and turned the game to the Revs' advantage). His crosses have been quite good through this unbeaten streak. I don't think there's any question.
Yeah, but it also looked like he could have been at fault for not paying attention, not being in the right spot on a goal we allowed as well, and I think Barnes has been a bit more steady defensively. It would probably come down to matchups, what the Revs would like to exploit against DC, or be afraid of getting exploited on their own side. I'm not saying I'm sure Tierney wouldn't start, just saying I wouldn't be surprised either way, whereas before Alston started over him, I would have been surprised.
Didn't see it mentioned, but EJ was suspended for the match tonight and fined twice as well. He'll be available and rested this weekend.
I hope they have worked on break aways this last week. We can't afford to come up eggs on that many attempts 1v1. Go in tight and draw a red if you have pressure coming, if not, finish the damn thing. Also hope to see a boatload more possession this match to really frustrate DCU. We will get hacked, plan for it, adapt and force the ref to protect our guys.
DC played well tonight beating Houston 2-0 at RFK. Really pressured Houston making it hard for them to mount an attack. Will they try the same on the road Saturday? IINM thats just what Olson will try --along with lots of hacking--to blunt our attack. We are going to need sharp, quick, one touch passing to get them to back off. This could be an ugly match
Something that has been working well for us recently, which was not always true, is that they can play out of pressure either down the wing or through the middle. There was a beautiful combination leading up to the second(?) goal, with Nguyen and Dorman combining to release Bunbury, who then assisted DF, which illustrates this point.
I was underwhelmed with DCU tonight. Both their goals came from one particular Houston defender (Horst) being de-pantsed by Rolfe and Espindola respectively. I didn't see much effective combination play, much attacking flair. NE is by far the more creative team, and should be able to create plenty of chances. Not that I've distinguished myself in the prediction business, but I like NE's chances here.
Anytime you face a team that fields EJ and Espindola you have to be a little concerned. I think the 2-0 loss at DC is a game the Revs feel they won on the field but lost in the box score. If I remember correctly they created a lot of chances that game but Dykstra played pretty good. An own goal and a goal in stoppage time was the difference. I like their chances in this game better than I did last game. I don't expect the offensive production but I do expect a win at home. At the very least a tie.
Agree with this - the revs are moving without the ball which is the main difference now. They need to be threatening and continue doing what they've been doing. That said I think it's going to be a battle. The revs should win this one but now they're not sneaking up on anybody. 2-0 sounds about right.
While it would be great to have JoGo and Rowe back, I'm not sure that I want to start JoGo in his first outing to go up against EJ and Espindola. He hasn't played a match in several weeks and isn't game fit. I also like having Farrell in the middle to work on EJ physically. Bring JoGo in if Farrell is in danger of being cautioned and move Andrew out to the right. Rowe, on the other hand, has had minutes and should be ready to start and go 60. He's got more creativity than Daigo, but less defensive bite. Bring Daigo in if we're getting bossed in the midfield or when Rowe tires. This won't be an easy match. EJ is going to be rested and still pissed and trying to prove something. However, if we keep our heads and avoid giving up an early goal, we win.
except that DC played last night, beating Houston 2-0. And next weekend we play Montreal, after they have a midweek Canadian Championship match with TFC. For some reason we get screwed the week after that, and play a NY team who will have an extra 30 minutes of rest compared to us, which doesn't seem fair.
DC's win over Houston puts them within 2 points of the Revs, so first place in the Eastern Conference is on the line this Saturday.
Was just going to post something about this. When was the last time these two met up for a fight for first place...?
Revs haven't won 5 straight games since they went 6-0 from 4/9/5 to 5/14/5 ... with four of those at home and a whopping 14-3 goal differential. This is the fourth straight week that the Revs will be playing a team that played a mid-week game, while the Revs were resting. There will be one more next week as well.