This revival is Taylor-made

Revolution rely on return man in win

CARSON, Calif. - Taylor Twellman's timing was slightly off, his conditioning below par, and he ended the game limping on an injured right ankle. But Twellman's scoring instincts remained intact as he tallied early in the second half of the Revolution's 2-1 victory over Chivas USA yesterday.

Twellman, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee April 2, made his season debut at the start of the second half in place of Kenny Mansally, who provided the initial score in the 18th minute. Twellman converted 14 minutes into the half, left-footing in a through ball from Steve Ralston for his 92d career regular-season goal, but he appeared to twist his ankle a few minutes later, making him questionable for the Revolution-San Jose game Saturday.

"I would have scored another one if my ankle was attached to my leg," Twellman said of an 86th-minute shot that rolled barely wide.

The Revolution (4-3-1, 13 points) seemed to have clinched the result with a two-goal advantage. But Chivas USA (1-4-2, 5 points), despite playing without several starters, cut the deficit in the third minute of added time as Justin Braun finished inside the goal area, referee Mark Geiger whistling the end of the match seconds after the ensuing kickoff.

"We didn't exactly set the place on fire," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. "We can play better, but we should have won by more."

Nicol changed the alignment from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-2-1 setup precisely because the Revolution had been lit up by the Chicago Fire in a 3-0 defeat last weekend.

Mansally, playing as a lone striker, ran onto a Jeff Larentowicz pass to score his second goal of the season, then departed at halftime with a leg strain. Larentowicz lofted the ball over the defense for Mansally to go in alone on Brad Guzan. Mansally continued to the right edge of the penalty arc, waiting for Guzan to commit, then left-footed inside the far post.

"Taylor was always going to come in at some stage," Nicol said. "Kenny had tweaked [his leg] in training and he had to come out. But it's nice to have somebody like Taylor on the bench."

Chivas's defense had been weakened by injuries, then the team lost Claudio Suarez (suspension) and Lawson Vaughn (broken nose) after a 0-0 tie with Houston last weekend and Jonathan Bornstein (knee surgery) Saturday. But the Revolution resisted the temptation to go on an all-out attack from the start.

"We weren't looking to clog up the midfield," Nicol said. "We were looking to possess the ball better than we have the last two weeks. So we put two [Mauricio Castro and Ralston] up higher to get the ball and to keep it, and that got the whole team moving forward. I like having two forwards but the situation wasn't right to do that in this game."

Until the 10th minute of the second half, that is.

Chivas nearly scored in the 52d minute, Maykel Galindo hitting the side netting off a Francisco Mendoza cross.

Three minutes later, Kheli Dube replaced Castro, the Revolution going to a 3-4-1-2 formation, playing a style similar to the one they used at the end of last season.

The change produced immediate threats. Twellman scuffed a shot in the 57th minute after a Dube-Ralston combination, and Dube whiffed on a Wells Thompson cross in the 58th.

Twellman started the scoring sequence, collecting a pass from Shalrie Joseph near midfield then playing it to Ralston and running forward. With Dube in a passive offside position, Ralston one-timed the ball behind the defense from the center circle and Twellman ran onto it. Twellman took two touches, holding off defender Jim Curtin into the penalty area and left-footing past Guzan.

"Taylor held the ball and I played a little ball over the top," Ralston said. "Dube is a smart player and he stayed where he was. If he had made a run, it could have been offside, and Taylor was already in. It was a great run by Taylor and a great finish. He's been out for six weeks but you would never notice.

"We talked before the game about getting the first goal. It makes everything a lot easier. We got behind the ball and stayed organized, got to good spots defensively. We turned the ball over a few times, but we definitely played better than last week."