6/23/09
| Game Preview: Revolution vs. Wizards |
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Fresh off their come-from-behind victory over Santos Laguna, the Revs return to SuperLiga 2009 action on Wednesday night when they host the Kansas City Wizards at Gillette Stadium with an aim at securing a spot in the competition’s semifinal round.
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| Taylor Twellman 2010/11 Home Replica Jersey |
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New England Revolution vs. Kansas City Wizards
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
7 p.m. ET
TV: Telefutura (Spanish), superliga2009.com (English)
Radio: ESPN Deportes Radio (Spanish), WEEI Radio Network (English, Taped delay following Red Sox coverage)
OVERVIEW
The New England Revolution takes on the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday night to continue the group stage of SuperLiga 2009. The two MLS clubs have already met once earlier this year in regular-season action, and this is each team’s second SuperLiga match in Group B.
Both New England and Kansas City kicked off SuperLiga 2009 with home games against Mexican Primera División clubs on Sunday – the Revs faced Santos Laguna and the Wizards took on Atlas.
The Revolution earned a come-from-behind win over Santos by a score of 4-2 at Gillette Stadium. Kenny Mansally scored in the 60th minute to tie the game at 2-2, and Jay Heaps scored in the 63rd minute to give New England the lead for good. Kansas City played its home game at Robert R. Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. In contrast to the high-scoring and rain-drenched affair in New England, Kansas City and Atlas played to a 0-0 draw in ninety-degree temperatures on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s results among the four Group B teams – Atlas, Kansas City, New England and Santos Laguna – puts New England alone atop the standings with three points. Kansas City and Atlas are tied for second with a point apiece, and Santos is in last place with zero points.
The Revolution and Wizards met for the first time in 2009 less than two weeks ago at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. That Saturday night saw the Wizards emerge with a 3-1 win, snapping the Revolution’s brief two-game winning streak. Davy Arnaud started the scoring for Kansas City in the 19th minute, but Shalrie Joseph knocked home a counter for the Revolution in the 28th minute. After Emmanuel Osei was sent off in the 31st minute, however, Kansas City benefited from a New England own goal in the 36th minute and defender Aaron Hohlbein sealed the deal for the Wizards in the 39th minute.
Gillette Stadium will play host to all four teams of SuperLiga Group B on Wednesday night, as Santos Laguna and Atlas will meet in the nightcap of the SuperLiga doubleheader at 9 p.m.
Wednesday night’s tilt is the second of at least four meetings between the clubs this season. The Revolution and Wizards will face off again in just 17 days when they meet for the second time this year in MLS regular-season action at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, July 11. The two Eastern Conference clubs will meet once more in regular-season action on Saturday, Sept. 5, again in Foxborough.
- Kansas City leads the all-time series between the two teams, 18-11-7 … the two clubs have never met outside Major League Soccer action, so Wednesday night’s game is the first-ever meeting between the two teams in non-MLS action
- Gillette Stadium has felt like a second home for Kansas City in recent years, as the Revs are just 1-6-4 against the Wizards since the stadium opened in 2002.
- Despite the Revs’ struggles against Kansas City in Foxborough in previous years, they’ve been tough to beat at home in 2009, going 4-1-1 in all competitions at Gillette Stadium.
- That home-field advantage has extended to the last two years of SuperLiga and with Sunday night’s win over Santos Laguna, the Revs are 4-0-1 at home in SuperLiga competition.
- Both Kansas City and New England will not play another MLS regular-season match until July … in just seventeen days they will meet again at Gillette Stadium in their third overall meeting of 2009.
- The four teams of Group B – Atlas, Kansas City, New England and Santos Laguna – will play all six games of the round-robin format by Sunday, June 28 … New England will face Atlas and Kansas City will meet Santos Laguna on Sunday to wrap up the group stage.
- Last season, the Wizards took the season series against the Revolution with two wins and a loss … New England’s lone win came at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on April 9 … both of Kansas City’s wins came in Oct. – 1-0 in Kansas City on Oct. 11 and 3-1 in Foxborough on Oct. 25
INJURY REPORT
New England Revolution (As of 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)
Kansas City Wizards (As of Friday, June 19)
OUT: Adam Cristman (fifth metatarsal fracture), Eric Kronberg (shoulder surgery), Chance Myers (fifth metatarsal fracture)
UNAVAILABLE: Roger Espinoza (suspension)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New England Revolution
Jay Heaps – Heaps has been a defensive stalwart for the Revolution all season, playing every minute of every game and contributing two goals, including the game-winner against Santos Laguna … injuries to fellow veterans Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman and Shalrie Joseph have meant that Heaps has taken on an even larger leadership role in recent weeks.
Kheli Dube – The Zimbabwean forward started on Sunday against Santos Laguna for the first time since May 9 against Chicago … the move reaped dividends in the second half, as Dube assisted on Jay Heaps’ game-winning goal in the 63rd minute and then added one of his own for good measure with a low scorcher of a volley that ricocheted off the post and into the net in the 82nd minute.
Kansas City Wizards
Kevin Hartman – The veteran goalkeeper – now in his thirteenth season in MLS – has posted a strong season in 2009 in Kansas City … he’s started all 14 games thus far and has recorded four clean sheets and a 1.21 GAA … against Atlas on Sunday, Hartman made two saves, including a fingertip effort on a 21-yard Dario Bottinelli free kick in the 29th minute.
Aaron Hohlbein – Hohlbein has started all 14 of Kansas City’s games so far this season … he’s come up from his usual defensive position and chipped in with two goals in 2009, including one off a corner kick against New England on June 13.
PREGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
On the role of Kheli Dube …
“Scoring the goal he did the other night obviously is going to be good for his confidence and hopefully he’ll continue that tomorrow night.”
On playing Kansas City at home, with a wider field …
“We’ve got some weapons in Kenny (Mansally) and Sainey (Nyassi) so hopefully we can use them.”
On playing four games in ten days with numerous injuries …
“The problem we have is numbers. We’ll have sixteen on the bench tomorrow night, Wells Thompson is suspended for the Open Cup game … the fact is that we’ll have only sixteen players on the bench for tomorrow night, two of them being goalies, so we’ve got fourteen outfield players for the next four games, and anybody who’s got an injury isn’t coming back before then (against the LA Galaxy July 4). So we can’t pick up any more injuries or we’re in serious trouble.”
MIDFIELDER PAT PHELAN
On playing with so many injured teammates …
“Well I think we feel pretty good. As long as we can keep eleven guys on the field I think we’ve got a good shot. We’re at home now – it’s difficult conditions, which we’re used to playing in – and we played good last game, so I think we’ve got some momentum. They had a tough draw in a tight game, so I think we feel pretty good. We’re down men but everyone has confidence.”
On the rainy conditions recently …
“We might have a little advantage. It’s been like this for more than a week, so we’re used to it. I don’t remember the last time we’ve seen the sun, but it obviously affects how both teams have to play. The ball’s got to stay on the ground a lot more and we’ll play to feet instead of into space, so it probably equals out.”
On the short recovery time between games …
“It’s a little different. It doesn’t help not having a lot of fresh guys out there, but our last two practices have been really light ... we’re just trying to get our legs underneath us, we don’t really need to train full out so we’re not really affected by it too much.”
On the differing playing style of Kansas City …
“I think one of our strengths is getting the ball wide and we had a lot of success with that against Santos. That’s what we tried to do when we played them (the Wizards) in Kansas City on that small field, but it’s going to be the same for us. You’re not going to be able to pound the ball through the middle because we don’t have Shalrie (Joseph) or (Steve) Ralston there, so we’re going to try to get the ball wide and create as much space for us as we can.”
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