Quick turnaround and two days rest for both teams ... but at least ours doesn't have to travel. A win puts the Revs into the next round already. I'm assuming we won't see Ralston, and maybe even be missing Alston? As of right now, we're still supposed to be getting rain Wednesday (when in hell's name did we all move to Seattle?). Perfect time for this game by the way ... 2:30 US starts their upset of Spain and that game will end at 4:30, which is just the right time to head to the tailgate.
I knew they were nursing minor things, but were they dinged up more yesterday? Seems we can beat Mexican club teams with our subs but MLS teams seem to be harder to beat these days. What's up wit Shalrie? is that a real injury or perceived?
Take no risks in this tournament. Play to win, but rest guys too. And since we're in first place in the group, there's no urgency to rush guys back. So... no Twellman, no Joseph (?), no Ralston, no Alston. But KC will be resting a few guys, too. At home, in our favorite craptastic weather, I think we'll pull off the 3 points so we can put in the youth academy/Breakers/UMass-Lowell soccer/Midnight Riders/Rev Girls against Atlas on Sunday
Hope Phalen doesn't have a significant concussion. He may not be great but were running out of players. I hope Osei takes good care of Lopez
Me, too. But even if we do see Ralston, am I the only one who thinks we need to give Heaps the armband? And maybe start him up top? The first time might have been a fluke but after yesterday's second half, I'm starting to see a trend.
I had previously made a 5 game schedule for lineups, but with the rate at which this team gets injured, I'm going to keep it simple. Dube Mansally - - - Videira - - - Nyassi Larentowicz - - - Phelan Igwe - - - Osei - - - Barnes - - - Heaps Reis I'd rather start our best lineup again, and rest for the 3rd game, that way we can go at it in the USOC.
I'm a little skeptical of KC after our last meeting. If we see the same Revs passion and heart we saw sunday then I think we can take this one. Osei vs Lopez round 2 should be fun to watch
i'd much rather see tierney in for igwe. watch the replay of last years superliga final if you're wondering why
KC was horrible against Atlas the other day. What a non-advertisement for MLS in front of the St. Louis crowd.
Injury Report - June 23 Two players have been added to the injury report since Friday, while two others have been downgraded. Here is the official New England Revolution injury report for Tuesday, June 23: DOUBTFUL: Kevin Alston (R hamstring tightness) OUT: Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus surgery), Gabriel Badilla (bulging disk), Mauricio Castro (L hamstring strain), Shalrie Joseph (R knee cartilage defect), Steve Ralston (R hamstring strain), Taylor Twellman (neck/concussive symptoms) New to the list are Kevin Alston and Steve Ralston, who both tweaked their right hamstrings during the first half of Sunday night’s victory over Santos Laguna. After recording the first assist of his professional career on Jeff Larentowicz’s opening goal, Alston felt a bit of tightness in his hamstring and was replaced at halftime. Meanwhile, Ralston was taken off immediately following the goal with a right hamstring strain. Alston is listed as “Doubtful” and Ralston is “Out,” and neither player trained in rainy conditions today. No mention of Phelan.
Our injury list would make a good starting line up for most MLS teams This starting lineup should be interesting. Nicol has been here before--lots of games and dinged up roster and maybe the chance to use this games as a breather. The real question is how he will play it knowing that our current points give us breathing space if he chooses. I don't have a lot of experience in judging the workings of group play but I suspect that any points in the next two games puts us through. I think Nicol plays a few of the guys that rarely if ever see the field.
It's still only been one game, so it's tough to say that. The odds are probably OK that we'd get through with a tie in our last two games (as long as we don't get killed on goal differential in the other). A tie tomorrow for example puts us at 4 points (KC at 2). Let's say Santos beats Atlas, that puts them at 3 (Atlas at 1). Then KC ties Santos (4) and Atlas beats us (4) ... which leaves a three way top spot fight, where goal differential is the first tiebreaker. So ... in other words, let's not worry about a tie, get the win tomorrow night and then you literally can take Sunday off.
Right now we have 13-14 healthy field players most of which are reserves. I agree that a win tomorrow is the smartest play and will allow Nicol to best manage the need to rest players for our USOC match. But no matter how you slice it, this roster right now is ultra thin. Regulars: Heaps, Osei, Barnes, Nyassi, Mansally, Dube Reserves :Igwe, Thompson, Tierney, Videra, Calucca, Assagne, Phalen Yikes
I'd like to come out with a team tomorrow that has the potential of actually winning and i'd like to see them go for it too...rest our guys sunday and forgo any injuries in the making (especially against the infamous hacking mexiteams) also getting a little ahead of myself here...here is the schedule for the semi's and finals... Wednesday, July 15 -Semifinal 1TBDTBD -Semifinal 2TBDTBD Wednesday, August 5 -FinalTBDTBD does anybody know the criteria for choosing the semifinal and final sites? aka best record gets the home field or would it be more like houston/la gets the final because of the pre-conditioned major ticket selling abilities...
The Semifinals and Finals are held at the home stadium of the MLS team...If there's no MLS team in the game well....who cares!
107 degree heat index. Water breaks during the game. Fans treated for heat exhaustion. Gomez getting subbed in the first half for getting dizzy. Let's just say the conditions weren't ever going to allow good soccer. Night games should be mandatory.
Well, Houston and LA aren't in the tournament, so..... IIRC, the game goes to the MLS team who had the better group record, and they'd use the group tiebreakers. Last year we hosted over Houston because of that.