Wednesday, May 8. A night that will live….
OK, infamy may be a stretch, yet it was undoubtedly the lowest point in the club’s recent history: the second of back-to-back five-goal defeats. The Revolution sat dead last in the Eastern Conference, leaked in goals like a sieve, had trouble scoring for the most part.
But the next seven days turned the 2019 season on its ear for Robert Kraft’s soccer stepsons. Brad Friedel? Sayonara. Michael Burns? Adios. Bruce Arena? Welcome to Foxborough.
Since that dark midweek evening in Bridgeview, New England has gone on a well-documented turnaround that has caught the eyes of the Boston sports media, the pundits on MLSSoccer.com — you know, the ones who said the club wouldn’t come close to making the postseason — and soccer fans across the country. An 11-match unbeaten run, 13 out of the last 14 unbeaten, a new attacker in Gustavo Bou (4 goals in 6 appearances), and a new contract for goalkeeper Matt Turner.
The Fire? They’ve had a little turnaround over the last month, winning three of their last four after only winning twice since sending Friedel to the unemployment line. Nemanja Nikolic has scored five goals in that recent stretch, a danger up top. And it was Bastian Schweinsteiger two weeks ago who scored the match-winning goal against Montreal, who were threatening to knock the Revs below the playoff line with a draw.
Two teams on the upswing, Saturday night at Gillette? We’ve got three words for you: Bring. It. On.
For the weekend preview, subscribe and read on
As we explained that midweek, the Fire have a tendency to give up space in the middle which, if the Revolution recognize it, should allow New England to connect passes. Not only that, Chicago has a tendency to make mistakes in the backline, which will give way to turnovers and chances for the opposition, but expect the Fire to throw 10 men behind the ball in their own defending third.
If there’s anything that Chicago does fairly well it’s changing the point of the attack, generally out on the wings. The Fire will more often than not build from the wings, but can play out of the back if necessary. Beware the play of Aleksandar Katai, who can snap ankles, shoot with both his left and his right, and can be rather shifty in possession. Also, expect well-weighted passes into the attacking third from Nico Gaitan. CJ Sapong, who has been a Revs killer in the past, is in the Chicago attack now and will look to improve on his six career goals scored against New England.
And like we said, Nikolic is feeling his stroke offensively: he can whip in a cross, or come right at you.
The Revs also need to be aware of Dax McCarty’s ability to have a go from 25 yards or more; leaving him unmarked and unchecked can lead to a missile into the back of the net.
The Revs also need to be aware that on occasion, the Fire don’t react on certain crosses in the box, which should lead to easy clearances.
Oh, and New England isn’t playing checkers in the lead-up to Saturday:
DAMN. #NERevs https://t.co/vOxF9K1G16
— Sean Sweeney (@MrSeanMSweeney) August 22, 2019