Revs hope to reverse history against Fire
New England looks to win first-ever playoff game in Windy City Saturday
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A win or draw in Saturday night's Eastern Conference Semifinal Series finale at Chicago, a place where they've never won or drawn in the playoffs (0-6-0), or a victory in extra time or penalty kicks after a one-goal defeat in regulation, will send the Revs through after securing a 2-1 win to open the series last Sunday.
The victory in last Sunday's first leg changed the calculus of the series and provided a small margin for error heading into the trip to Toyota Park, but Revolution forward Kheli Dube said his team can't afford to alter its approach.
"It's changed, but in these kind of games, you have to keep doing what you did in the last game," Dube said. "You have to try to win the game because if they score one goal, it comes back to hurt us. You don't want to do that, so you go out there and try to go for the win."
Going for the win might not mean committing extra bodies forward and pressing the attacking play in search of goals. With Chicago bound to set the tempo and move extra bodies forward in search of the goals it needs to turn over the tie, the Revs could be tempted to sit back and stack bodies into their defensive third.
That tactic -- one eschewed by Real Salt Lake in their 3-2 win at Columbus on Thursday night to seal an Eastern Conference final berth -- might not prove the most prudent, according to Revolution midfielder Pat Phelan.
"We can't really look at it that way," Phelan said. "It's a tough place to play. We can't go in there hoping for a tie or sitting back. We're going to keep it tight defensively like we have been doing. We're been hitting our form on set pieces, so maybe we can find something there. It's a good time for us to be hitting our form on those. We're going to go in with confidence."
Although New England doesn't plan to sit back and soak up pressure, the Revolution will make sure to pay keen attention to keeping things tight and avoiding needless mistakes at the back, according to coach Steve Nicol.
"You find a balance, but I don't think we're going to be silly and just sit back," Revolution midfielder Jeff Larentowicz said. "We'll just be asking for it. There are certain players who know that their role is to attack and there are certain players who know their role is to defend or put out some fires. There are 10 guys on the field who will be attacking and defending, but maybe there will be more guys who will be defending (at times)."
Larentowicz and the Revs have few doubts about the players who will take the field. New England is expected to field the same starting XI from the first leg, though there is some doubt about whether Edgaras Jankauskas (bronchitis) will be fit enough to feature from the outset. Jankauskas, who was listed as questionable on the Revolution's injury report on Friday, left the first leg match after 52 minutes with the illness and trained sporadically this week.
Those who do feature will have to submit a performance similar to the determined and effective road showings that yielded critical results in places like Chicago, Colorado, Houston and Seattle during the regular season in order to book a seventh trip to the Eastern Conference final in eight years.
"It's a matter of concentration and effort for 90 minutes," Larentowicz said. "When we've gone on the road and we've gotten wins in Seattle and Houston, we've gone in and concentrated for the whole game. That's the most important thing for us."
Nicol said his side would be prepared to do just that as it seeks to end its dismal playoff run in the Windy City.
"It's a mindset which we've had all season, really," Nicol said. "It's well documented that we've had injuries and stuff, but at the end of the day, 11 guys have to go on the field and get the job done. From a professional standpoint and an attitude standpoint, that's what we've done. We don't expect us to do it any other way on Saturday."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com
