Lining up their options

Near the end of the Major League Soccer regular season, the Revolution proved they could win without midfielder Shalrie Joseph in the lineup. Joseph returned at slightly less than full speed for the Revolution's 1-0 loss to Chicago in their playoff opener Sunday, the team's first loss in eight games.

Joseph, performing with a cast on his right hand to protect a finger tendon injury sustained in a nightclub incident last month, got off to a spectacular start against the Fire, sending one of his patented through balls to spring an offensive in the opening minute.

Steve Ralston's shot went directly at Matt Pickens, but the play indicated New England wanted to set the tone for the two-match series, which concludes at Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

In the match's concluding moments, Joseph broke into the Chicago penalty area for a shot off a long ball from Avery John, earning a corner in a last-gasp attempt to tie the score. But Joseph's overall performance was below par for one of the hottest commodities in MLS.

"My fitness is all right and a couple more days of training will help," Joseph said. "The thing I need to concentrate on is my sharpness. I wanted to play 90 minutes and get a result but, unfortunately, we didn't get a result. We had a lot of chances. And now we have a home game and we have to score some goals."

Revolution coach Steve Nicol returned to the lineup that began the team's seven-match unbeaten streak in early September. The altered formation of the last five matches of the regular season (4-0-1, 9-3 goal differential) might have been more effective; but that would have meant excluding Joseph, who has been the team's most valuable player in the recent past.

The Revolution are treating this week as an extended halftime of a 180-minute series, the total-goals victor advancing to the Eastern Conference final.

The fact that the Fire played defensively for such long stretches in Game 1 could encourage Nicol to field an even more attack-minded lineup in Game 2.

That would mean possibly starting players such as Jose Manuel Abundis, Daniel Hernandez, Pat Noonan, or Khano Smith. Jose Cancela seems consigned to a reserve role.

Or, Nicol could continue with two holding midfielders (Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz), going to the others as reserve sparks early in the second half. The Revolution have been successful with Joe Franchino in a central midfield role, which opens the possibility of using Andy Dorman or Smith on the wings.

The return to health of Hernandez (ankle), Noonan (hernia), Joseph, and Smith (knee) opens many possibilities. But Nicol also must consider their levels of fitness and sharpness.

The Revolution believe they retained momentum after dominating the second half of the opener. Justin Mapp's 35th-minute free kick was the lone Chicago goal; it went through the Revolution defensive wall following a Jay Heaps foul on Chris Armas.

"We dictated play," said Joseph, the object of a $1 million offer recently from Glasgow Celtic. "We had a mental lapse on the goal, we didn't pick up their man coming through the midfield. But after that we pushed the tempo and we thought the goal was going to come."

Last year, the Revolution hobbled through the playoff opener, a 1-0 loss to the MetroStars, then rallied for a 3-1 home victory.

"We have great leadership and we just need to come together as a team now," said Joseph. "It helps us that we have been through adversity. You look at what we did last year against New York and that shows the character of the team."

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.