8/27/09
| Game Preview: Revolution vs. Earthquakes |
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Due to the Ted Kennedy funeral TV coverage, tonight's match will be delayed on TV38. Watch LIVE video of the game right here. (Streaming in flash)
Kheli Dube and the Revs look to earn three points at home against San Jose on Saturday night
Photo:Keith Nordstrom |
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| Shalrie Joseph 2010/11 Away Replica Jersey |
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New England Revolution vs. San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
7:30 p.m. ET
TV: TV38
Radio: WRKO 680 AM
OVERVIEW
The Revolution, fresh off a pair of victories last week, continues a three-game home stand this Saturday night, Aug. 29, against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium. With a 4-1-1 record in their last six games and having climbed from sixth place in the Eastern Conference to a tie for third place, the Revs look to continue their solid run with their third-straight victory.
New England (8-6-6, 30 pts.) won the first meeting of the season between the clubs, back on March 21 in the teams’ season opener at Buck Shaw Stadium. Kheli Dube volleyed home Jeff Larentowicz’s pass in the second half, earning their first win in San Jose since the 2000 season. San Jose (5-11-5, 20 pts.) enters Saturday’s match with a 2-1-1 record in its last four games, earning home victories over Seattle (4-0) and Kansas City (1-0) in that stretch.
Saturday’s match will be just the fourth between the teams since the 2005 season. Since San Jose re-entered the league last year, the Revs have held the slight advantage in the series, going 2-1-0 against the Quakes. Dube has scored the Revs’ only goals against San Jose since they re-joined the league, while Matt Reis has posted a pair of shutouts.
San Jose leads the all-time, regular-season series between the two teams, 16-10-4, and has gone 9-5-1 in Foxborough against New England – including a 5-1-1 mark at Gillette Stadium.
- The Revolution’s home winning percentage against the Earthquakes stands at .367 (5-9-1), which is the club’s lowest home winning percentage against any team.
- Saturday night’s match will conclude the regular-season series between the Revs and Earthquakes … the clubs opened the 2009 season against each other on March 21 at Buck Shaw Stadium, with the Revolution earning a 1-0 win behind the strength of Kheli Dube’s 55th-minute goal.
- With a win or a draw on Saturday night, the Revolution can win the regular-season series with San Jose for the first time since 2000.
- New England is 2-1-0 against San Jose since the club returned to the league last season … the clubs split a pair of meetings in 2008, with each team winning on its home ground.
INJURY REPORT (As of Tuesday, Aug. 25)
New England Revolution
OUT: Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus tear/bone bruising), Kevin Alston (illness), Taylor Twellman (concussion)
DOUBTFUL: Edgaras Jankauskas (L adductor strain)
QUESTIONABLE: Kheli Dube (L hamstring strain), Jeff Larentowicz (R wrist fracture)
PROBABLE: Jay Heaps (L hamstring strain), Kenny Mansally (L ankle sprain), Bobby Shuttleworth (R hip flexor strain)
San Jose Earthquakes
DOUBTFUL: Cornell Glen (R hamstring strain), Aaron Pitchkolan (L groin avulsion)
PROBABLE: Bobby Convey (R ankle sprain)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New England Revolution
Kheli Dube – Coming off a weekend where he scored his first career hat trick and won MLS player of the week honors, Dube will face a team against which he’s seen considerable success … he is the only current Revs player to score against the expansion Earthquakes, striking for the game-winning goal in the home match in 2008 and then in the season-opener in Santa Clara earlier this year.
Jay Heaps – While anchoring a defense that is gaining seasoning during the stretch run, Heaps has also gotten more active in the attack since returning from the Gold Cup in early August, recording a pair of assists with play out of the backfield … with Kevin Alston listed as “Out” in the early-week injury list, Heaps could be shifted back to the right side of defense against the Earthquakes.
San Jose Earthquakes
Ryan Johnson – A local product out Boston, Mass., Ryan Johnson has burst onto the scene in 2009, proving himself to be a legitimate goal scoring threat with both his head and his feet … he enters the weekend as the Earthquakes’ leading scorer with seven goals, while playing a team-high 21 games.
Bobby Convey – Still just 26 years old despite being an experienced veteran of both Major League Soccer and the English Premier League with Reading, Convey is the type of crafty player that the Revs will have to keep in check … this season he has played up top, on both wings, and as a full back, so he has versatility to play all over the field.
PREGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
On the approach in training this week following two games in four days …
“Normally the first day back we’ll do a wee bit of running and some playing, but this week we’ve cut back on the running. It’s only been two days since we last played and having two games in four days is tough on the body and tough on the mind, as well. So we relaxed a bit [on Wednesday]. [Thursday] will probably be a wee bit more than [Wednesday], but pretty similar so that we’re nice and fresh and hopefully ready to go on Saturday.”
On the importance of the current home stand with five of eight games on the road to finish the season …
“We don’t look at it at that way. We’ve got another game at home on Saturday and that’s the only thing we’ve got on our mind. Looking further than Saturday is just a waste of time because we don’t know what’s going to happen. Hopefully we win 10-0 on Saturday and then we move on, but we’ll see what happens.”
On whether anything can be taken from the Revs’ previous matchup with San Jose in the season opener …
“They’ve made quite a few changes since then. Off the top of my head we’ve probably got a few players that’ll play on Saturday that didn’t play in the first game, as well. Set pieces and stuff like that you can take, but as far as general play, they’ll go about it more or less the same way they have all season, just with different personnel.”
MIDFIELDER JEFF LARENTOWICZ
On the broken radius in his right arm, suffered in the 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake last Sunday …
“It’s a small fracture and I’ve got a cast on it. It’ll be on for six weeks, but I trained [on Wednesday] – we just had it padded up so I’ll be fine.”
On keeping fresh this week following two games in four days …
“This week is good because you can just ease your way into it. It’s a short week, but six days in between games is good. It’s better than it was last week, but I think we did alright with having those two games in four days.”
On the importance of the current home stand …
“I think that we’re approaching the stretch. After we had the break after the LA game (on August 8) we knew that coming back all these games – especially the home ones – were going to be really important for our run toward the end of the season. To play at home is great. We thought we did pretty well on Sunday (against Real Salt Lake) and we’re hoping to do that again (this Saturday against San Jose).”
On whether anything can be taken from the Revs’ previous matchup with San Jose in the season opener …
“It’s a different a game, for a number of reasons. Playing up there is tough just because of the field conditions – it’s so small and that night it was really slick with the rain. It’ll be different playing at home. The teams are obviously different – we’ve got some new personnel and I’m sure they do, too. It should be a different game, but I think that they’re a team that’s in a tough spot, too, so these games are just as important for them, as well.”
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