By Kevin Koczwara
Last week the New England Revolution traded its captain Shalrie Joseph to Chivas USA. The midfielder hadn’t played for any other team since joining Major League Soccer and it was thought that he’d finish out his career in New England after signing a contract over the winter with the Revolution and became the team’s second Designated Player in team history. This of course was before the former captain’s relationship with the Revolution’s new coach Jay Heaps became “rocky”.
By Kevin Koczwara
There was never any doubt about Thierry Henry’s ability when he signed with the New York Red Bulls. There have been questions about his age, though. Henry seemed to be on the wrong side of 34 after he suffered an injury earlier this year while playing against the New England Revolution.
But the former Barcelona and Arsenal forward again proved he is worth the big money the Red Bulls offered to him. Today, in a midweek, mid-afternoon Major League Soccer game, Henry showed he still has magic in his boots.
Henry’s goal, the game winner in the Red Bulls 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire, showed the kind of touch and skill that Arsenal fans saw so many times during his legendary time at the club. Henry took the ball down with his chest, pushing it into space and ripping a shot across the goal and off the inside of the opposite post. Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson never had a chance.
Watch a clip of the video courtesy of MLSsoccer.com below.
By Kevin Koczwara
Last week I wrote about the Columbus Crew’s effective game plan to shut down the New England Revolution through the middle of the midfield for New England Soccer Today. A major player in that stifling midfield was former New York Red Bull and Toronto FC midfielder Tony Tchani.
Tchani was traded twice last year. First he was shipped to New York as part of a package for Dwayne De Rosario and then the Reds sent him to Columbus for Andy Iro and other players. Tchani went to the Crew and quickly found himself shelved with a knee injury, limiting his playing time — Tchani only saw time in a Crew jersey in the team’s one playoff game, he played the full 90 minutes.
By Kevin Koczwara
Clyde Simms does more work than it sometimes appears for the New England Revolution. The former D.C. United holding midfielder sits just in front of the Revolution defense and behind Shalrie Joseph and the rest of the midfield. He’s the anchor, the player who picks up the scraps and fills the void left between the midfield and defense, the area where forwards thrive. But left ankle tendonitis kept him out of Saturday’s game against the Houston Dynamo. That meant New England needed to find another heartbeat in the midfield to work with Joseph, who has abandoned his defensive midfield role for a more box-to-box approach in recent seasons.
Step up Ryan Guy.
By Kevin Koczwara
The New England Revolution have struggled to stop opponents on set-pieces, score on its own set-pieces (including corner kicks) and stopping opponents from scoring goals in the last 15 minutes of the game. Against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, the Revolution (4-6-1, 13 pts.) allowed Houston (3-3-4, 13 pts.) take advantage of New England’s shortcomings.
Both of these goals happened yesterday. And both of these goals are top-class stuff. Beckham’s played a bigger role i the context of the game, but Nguyen’s goals played a bigger role personally. Both are quality. Which do you prefer?
By Kevin Koczwara
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Omar Salgado pulled down Stephen McCarthy in the Revolution box just before halftime. The Vancouver Whitecaps player was frustrated with McCarthy’s marking on the previous corner kick and it boiled over into a fit of childish play. But Stephen McCarthy was having none of it.The 6’5” newly converted center back for the New England Revolution began screaming at the Whitecaps forward. The two had to be separated and referee blew the halftime whistle.
New England went into the locker room with a 3-1 lead, which would stretch to 4-1 in the second half after Lee Nguyen scored a magnificent goal, and all the momentum. Stephen McCarthy’s play at the back was one of the main reasons.
Martin Rennie, the Whitecaps new coach. (Photo Courtesy The Vancouver Whitecaps/Major League Soccer)
By Kevin Koczwara
The Vancouver Whitecaps (3-6-0, 9 pts.) travelled to New England today for tomorrow’s game against the New England Revolution and I got to speak with the Whitecaps’ (5-2-2, 17 pts.)new coach Martin Rennie via phone after the team settled up in its hotel about his first year coaching in Major League Soccer and his team.
Under Rennie’s leadership, Vancouver has become one of the toughest sides in MLS to score against and the team got its first road win in the club’s short MLS history. The Whitecaps defense has the second best goals against record in all of MLS, only seven goals allowed in nine league matches, and sits fourth in the Western Conference with three games in hand over leaders Real Salt Lake and one game in hand on the San Jose Earthquakes.
By Kevin Koczwara
For all the hard work and promising displays on the field, the New England Revolution don’t have much to show in the way of wins or points this season (3-6-0 9 pts.). First year coach Jay Heaps has brought a new attitude to the team — a high-pressure, ball possession and attack-minded approach — but its lead to a few positive results. Instead, New England has loss games it should have won or drew (the 1-0 loss to New York; the 1-0 loss to FC Dallas; the 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake).
Games aren’t being lost the same way they were in the past few seasons — in the dying moments of the game, or because of a lack of attacking power. This team is losing games because there is something missing right now: that unknown winner’s trademark of being able to gut out a victory.
On the flip side of New England is Saturday’s opponent the Vancouver Whitecaps (5-2-2 17 pts.). First year coach Martin Rennie has come in and instilled a defensive approach to a team that leaked in goals last year at an alarming rate. Even with an attack full of high-octane players – Sébastien Le Toux, Eric Hassli, Darren Mattocks, Omar Salgado, Etiba Harris and Long Tan — the Whitecaps have found goals hard to come by. Vancouver, right now, is the complete opposite of New England. The Whitecaps are eking out wins and have a winning swagger that comes with holding off opponents and beating top-tier teams.
By Kevin Koczwara
The New England Revolution has lost four of the last five games, but the team continues to show light and impress the eye despite not getting the deserved results. An impressive mid-week win over the Colorado Rapids set the stage for a highly anticipated match at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City with Western Conference powerhouse Real Salt Lake. The Revolution took the lead but ended up falling to RSL, 2-1. The game was an open affair, the kind of game New England will have the upper-hand on for the most part with its talented midfield.
Here are five things to take away from the busy week/weekend.
