6/4/09
| Game Preview: Revolution vs. Red Bulls |
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Fresh off the club’s dramatic victory over D.C. United last weekend, the Revolution returns to Gillette Stadium on Sunday night to battle another Eastern Conference rival, the New York Red Bulls
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| Kevin Alston 2010/11 Home Replica Jersey |
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New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
6 p.m. ET
TV: TV38
Radio: WEEI Radio Network
OVERVIEW
After snapping a six-game winless streak with a last-minute win against D.C. United last weekend, the New England Revolution (3-3-4, 13 pts.) is on solid ground as the club gets set to take on another Eastern Conference rival, the New York Red Bulls (2-7-3, 9 pts.). Sunday’s match will conclude the first set of back-to-back home games for the Revs this season – a nice change after playing six of their first nine games on the road. Meanwhile, New York comes into town with little downtime because of the club’s road game on Thursday against D.C. United.
This weekend’s contest could include impressive milestones for three Revs players. Jay Heaps is set to become only the ninth player in league history to make 300 appearances, while Taylor Twellman is on the brink of becoming the fifth player in MLS history to score 100 regular-season goals after making his season debut last week. Lastly, Matt Reis will continue his quest for just one more shutout, which would make him only the seventh goalkeeper in MLS history to record 50 clean sheets.
After Sunday’s game, New England and New York will meet one more time in the 2009 regular season, on September 18 at Giants Stadium.
- The Revs lead the all-time, regular-season series with New York, 23-16-10 … the Revs are 15-4-4 against New York in Foxborough – including 8-1-3 at Gillette Stadium - while they’re 8-12-6 on the road.
- The teams have already played once this season – a 1-1 draw at Giants Stadium on March 28.
- The Revs currently have an 11-game, regular-season unbeaten streak (6-0-5) against New York that dates back to the club’s name change from the MetroStars to the Red Bulls… New York’s last victory in the regular-season series came on Sept. 17, 2005 – a 5-4 victory at Giants Stadium.
- New York has not won in Foxborough since June 29, 2002 – a 2-0 win in the club’s first-ever visit to Gillette Stadium.
- Each of the last three meetings between New England and New York have ended in 1-1 draws (April 19, 2008 at Giants Stadium; June 18, 2008 at Gillette Stadium; March 28, 2009 at Giants Stadium) … overall, four straight regular-season matches have finished with the teams level.
- New England and New York have met in the postseason three times – 2003, 2005 and 2007 – and the Revs have eliminated the Red Bulls on each occasion … the clubs’ most recent playoff encounter was in the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals, won by the Revs, 1-0, on aggregate.
- Exactly one-third of the way through the season, three Revolution players – Jay Heaps, Shalrie Joseph and Darrius Barnes – have played all 900 minutes of New England’s first 10 games.
The Revs have allowed the first goal in all four of their home games so far this season … despite that statistic, New England is 2-1-1 at home.
INJURY REPORT (As of Tuesday, June 2)
New England Revolution
QUESTIONABLE: Taylor Twellman (neck pain)
DOUBTFUL: Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus surgery)
OUT: Gabriel Badilla (bulging disk), Mauricio Castro (L hamstring strain)
New York Red Bulls
QUESTIONABLE: Macoumba Kandji (L hamstring strain)
OUT: Carlos Johnson (L foot fifth metatarsal fracture), Matthew Mbuta (L turf toe)
UNAVAILABLE: Andrew Boyens (New Zealand National Team), Alfredo Pacheco (El Salvador National Team), Jorge Rojas (Venezuela National Team)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New England Revolution
Taylor Twellman – The Revolution’s all-time leading goal scorer returned to thunderous applause last Saturday night when he made his first appearance of the season, while he then proceeded to contribute to both of the Revs’ goals in the 2-1 win over D.C. … with another rivalry game at Gillette Stadium on tap for Sunday night – and with Twellman just one goal shy of the century mark – expect another gutsy performance.
Jay Heaps – The Revolution’s career leader in all three longevity categories (games played, games started, minutes played), Heaps is set to reach yet another milestone on Sunday night when he could become the ninth player in MLS history to make 300 appearances.
New York Red Bulls
Juan Pablo Angel – Although his production is slightly down this season (four goals in 12 games entering this week’s action), the Colombian marksman is always a threat because of his willingness to shoot from all angles … prior to New York’s Thursday night game against D.C., Angel was tied for second in the league in shots (38), just one behind league-leader Kenny Cooper.
Macoumba Kandji – Still just 23 years old, Kandji has been one of the Red Bulls’ best players since joining from the Atlanta Silverbacks of USL-1 late last season … tall and athletic, Kandji has seem time both wide in the midfield and up top, contributing two goals and three assists entering this week’s action … the most recent injury report had Kandji listed as “Questionable” with a left hamstring strain.
PREGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
On some of the club’s injured players returning to the lineup …
“It’s fantastic. It’s a different level of play when you get your whole squad back. It will definitely be a different level of play going forward.”
On Jay Heaps making his 300th career appearance …
“It’s just consistency, first and foremost. You don’t play 300 games unless you’re performing at a consistent level. And the fact that I can play him anywhere along the back four is huge. If you have suspensions or injuries, you know he is a guy you can rely on. He just always gives a consistently high level of performance. He’s a guy that gets people going around him. He loves running and competing. When you have guys like that on your team, it can only help.”
On the team’s attitude since breaking the winless streak against D.C. United last weekend …
“Fantastic, like it should be. If it’s not good after a win, than you have no chance. But it has been good since we’ve come back, really. From preseason all the way through to now, everybody’s attitude has been real good. Everybody is desperate to do well, and I think anytime you win a game, you should be very confident in the following one. You’ve got to get into it and get going so I’m sure that’s how we’ll be.”
MIDFIELDER JEFF LARENTOWICZ
On feeling a sense of rivalry with the Red Bulls …
“Definitely. In the past couple years, we’ve had some good rivalries in the playoffs. But also during the year, we seem to have had their number, especially when we play down there, but up here as well. They’re a similar team to us in their style of play, so I think that creates closer games and creates the rivalry that we’ve had.”
On how he thinks the team will perform coming off last weekend’s win …
“I think well. If we have Taylor (Twellman) out there and continue to play with him out there, our rhythm as a team will be better and we are going to be able to keep the ball up front better, because he is a very good player and our style of play is going to go right through him.”
On how he has been feeling since coming out of last week’s game in the 25th minute with a head injury …
“I’ve been alright. The worst part was the next day and half of Monday, just with headaches. It’s just a little embarrassing. I wish it hadn’t happened, but it’s just one of those things. But overall, I’ve felt fine and done everything in practice.”
On the advantage of playing two consecutive home games …
“At the beginning of the year, we were on the road the whole time, so you’re never really settled. I think not only having two games at home in a row, but also getting the win last week, is going to help us. We always want to play at home. We had a great crowd last week, the weather was great, and it looks like it could be great again. I think that playing at home is definitely going to be good and be an advantage for us.”
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