FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution halted MLS play for future SuperLiga glory after a 2-1 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 4. The Revs led the Eastern Conference by seven points against Columbus.
Five weeks later, the Revolution will take to the field Saturday evening against the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium with a two-point lead still intact and two games in hand over the second-place Crew.
"Obviously, the gap has closed quite a bit," Revs captain Steve Ralston said. "We still have a little bit of a lead on Columbus. We were stacked up early in the season. We played quite a few games. We knew that we needed to get some points when we could."
Given that Columbus was two wins behind New England on July 5 after a 2-2 draw with Chicago and had four other MLS games to play before the Revs returned to league play, most observers expected the Crew to overhaul New England.
"We are surprised," Revs head coach Steve Nicol said. "The results have gone our way so far. But it's not something we're relying on. We need to get back into the swing of winning league games. That's our bread and butter. That's the thing that gets you all of the other benefits. We have to do well with [league play]."
The Fire have proven a bogey team for the Revolution so far this season. Two losses by a combined seven goals have made Chicago a team the Revs simply haven't been able to handle.
"It's not something we think about, to be honest with you," Nicol said. "We just try to keep doing what we're doing. We want to keep rolling on the things we're doing. We're not giving much away. We're creating chances. We've been good with the ball and we've been passing it well. That's the only thing we're concentrating on right now. Forget what has happened previously."
Dynamic attacking play has proven the Revs undoing against the Fire this season as the team has struggled to combat the maneuverability of attacking trio of Chris Rolfe, Justin Mapp and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
"Offensively, that's how they've hurt us," Revs 'keeper Matt Reis said. "Defensively, they are solid. They haven't given us too much."
New England hasn't been in a giving mood lately either. Since July 1, the Revs have allowed five goals in eight games despite chopping and changing at the back because of injuries and suspensions.
The shift to a 4-4-2 formation has covered up most of those changes and allowed Nicol to swap personnel.
"We've really moved into it seamlessly," Reis said. "It's changed our mindset and our attack."
A winger-inspired attack received further fuel with the cover of fullbacks behind Mauricio Castro and Sainey Nyassi, but Shalrie Joseph's aerial prowess might prove more vital to the team's continued offensive success. The Grenadan midfielder finished as the top SuperLiga scorer after netting three headers from three Ralston set pieces.
"We've been working on our set pieces," Ralston said. "He's a big, strong guy. He's going to get his head on things. Early in the season, he'd gotten some good chances, but he was just missing. Guys were saving off the line. He's a great player whether he scores goals for us or not."
Joseph will partner Ralston in the center of the park while Reis will make his 100th consecutive league start in between the sticks for Nicol. The return of Jay Heaps in central defense could consign Amaechi Igwe to the bench after Chris Tierney's assured performance against Houston.
Nicol admitted that any players with knocks could earn the night off with the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against D.C. United slated for Tuesday at RFK Stadium.
"We've got a couple of knocks which will change things anyways," Nicol said. "We're trying to put on the field what we think is the best team that day. If that means we make changes, we'll do it. We're not going out of our way to make changes."
Jose could return to England
Nicol bringing Ralston to Toronto
