Revs played the Chicago Fire this Sunday in a Eastern Conference showdown at Gillette Stadium. The Revs have won 3 matches in a row and 4 unbeaten, and currently occupy 3rd place in the Eastern Conference (11-12-3) 36 points. Chicago on the other hand must win just to keep up with the last playoff spot (5-6-14 29 points). They currently sit 7 points out of a playoff spot, but only 25 games played vs 26-28 from those teams ahead of them. This will be the 3rd game Jermaine Jones will play in (2nd start) since signing with the Revs.

 

Pregame opinion:

New England are currently in a 4 game unbeaten streak, 3 wins 1 tie. Last two wins they have scored 3 goals against what was suppose to be tough opponents. If the Revs want to continue their streak or at least give themselves opportunities to win they need scoring from their starting striker. Last game Charlie Davies had the fewest touches before getting subbed off. Very hard to have scoring chances when you don’t get any touches of the ball. They cannot rely on Lee Nguyen for all their goals. (12 goals scored this season, leading scorer.)  2nd leading scorer is a 3 way tie with 4 goals. Despite this lack of a secondary goal scorer, Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe have been working well together lately. Central defenders AJ Soares and Jose Goncalves have been working great together and will need to continue this trend.

1st half:

  • Revs early possession first 25 minutes, but not much threat
  • Fire scored first 28th minute from Amarikwa header as he slips between Caldwell and Soares
  • Revs struggled after goal, Jermaine Jones gave up possession of ball to easy when Nyassi has a break away but hits post
  • Fire with multiple attacks and multiple crosses into Revs penalty area
  • on a sequence of plays from a corner kick, Jose Goncalves stops ball from going out of bounds by corner flag, finds Lee Nguyen who assisted Diego Fagundez’s 5th goal of the season to tie it up 1-1
  • Diego’s first goal since May 24th, Lee’s 5th assist of the season

2nd half:

  • Revs early possession, passing early in 2nd half
  • Revs defender Barnes on a corner kick has a good header on net but Chicago’s keeper Johnson was equal to the save
  • Rowe forces Johnson to make another good save as his low shot to the left corner was saved
  • Jermaine Jones assists Charlie Davies for his 3rd goal of the season to take a 2-1 lead
  • Revs continue to maintain possession until end of game for a 2-1 win

Jermain Jones post game:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K9874Oi3s4&w=420&h=315]

Jay Heaps post game:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY3SZL8AJIU&w=420&h=315]

Revs won again for the 4th straight game, 5 unbeaten. They are now 12-12-3 with 39 points. They currently sit in 3rd place, 5 points ahead of New York Redbulls, who are the first team outside of the playoffs. Despite the win tonight, the Revs didn’t always look good. They did concede first, second straight game. After conceding, Chicago nearly could of made 2-0. After tying the game before halftime, the Revs looked more in control. Charlie Davies came on in the second half, and minutes later took a Jermaine Jones pass and scored the eventual game winner. Great to see Diego Fagundez finally score a goal, and with his head too. Hasn’t scored since May 24th, I know I have been harsh with him, so I am giving him credit where its due. Even though he didn’t play the whole 90 minutes, a goal is a goal and the Revs keep marching on.

Their next match will be at home this Saturday vs last place team Montreal. The last time the Revs played Montreal, they lost away 2-0 may 31, a game that ended the Revs 5 game winning streak ( 7 unbeaten 6 wins 1 tie). This loss started their 8 game slide.

SOMETHING TO DISCUSS?

Should manager Jay Heaps stick with Charlie Davies as his main starter in the striker position? Should Diego play on the right side and keep Rowe on the left side?