Revolution hope they're not in deep trouble
The Revolution appeared to have few worries as they cruised into halftime of their Major League Soccer season opener, a 3-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo March 29 in Foxborough. But injuries and misfortune began piling up, starting midway through the second half of the opener, creating a near-crisis situation as they prepare to visit the Kansas City Wizards tomorrow.
The bad news continued during the Revolution's 4-0 setback to Chicago Thursday when defender Chris Albright (left ankle) was injured and Jeff Larentowicz was red-carded, and they'll join starters Steve Ralston (dislocated shoulder), Wells Thompson (heel), and Taylor Twellman (knee) among the missing.
The Revolution's opening success appeared to answer many questions about the team's depth, raised by the loss of four regulars without compensation during the offseason. But the latest losses will further test the Revolution newcomers as they prepare for games against the Wizards and Colorado in a 72-hour period.
Chase Hilgenbrinck and Amaechi Igwe are set to reinforce the defense as the Revolution revert to a 4-4-2 alignment. Gary Flood will make his third career start in central midfield and Mauricio Castro returns to the left wing. Igwe could join two other 19-year-olds, Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi, in the starting lineup.
"It's one of those things we have to deal with," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said yesterday. "We feel we are still strong as a unit. Obviously, there will be a change without Chris Albright. But we will still try to do the things we always do, the way we always do them. And we'll do so with confidence and be strong."
The Revolution were routed by Chicago, but righted their defense after adding Hilgenbrinck and switching to a four-man back line, blanking the Fire for the final 51 minutes, despite playing with a man disadvantage.
"That was important for the psyche," Nicol said. "It showed how strong we are mentally. The first thing we have to do now is be mentally and physically ready. If we do that, our game will come."
Defender-midfielder Joe Franchino (right hamstring) and forward Spencer Wadsworth (ankle) returned to training, Franchino's competitiveness evident in increasing the intensity of a full-field scrimmage at Gillette Stadium.
Flood will perform in a holding midfield role against Wizard veterans Carlos Marinelli, Sasha Victorine, and Kerry Zavagnin.
Flood's composure in the role was a key to the Revolution's attempt to recover against Chicago.
"[Flood] reads the game well and he showed he is mentally up for it," Nicol said. "He didn't panic, he went about his business. We saw it the first game last year [also at Chicago], he picked up good spots and read the game well."
Flood might have been destined for this position, having been coached by former Revolution defender Tom Lips on Long Island.
Lips's hard-charging tactics included once slamming Columbus's Brian McBride into the signboards behind the goal with a legal, but very strong, shoulder charge.
"[Lips] coached me since I was 10 and he always made it hard on me," Flood said.
Flood was a central defender and midfielder at Hofstra.
"Guys are smarter and it's a whole new level of speed compared to college," Flood said. "The ball is pinging around in there and everyone is making one or two touches. In college, guys slow it up a little and maybe take three or four touches sometimes. So you have to be ready.
"It's just a soccer game, no matter how fast it is. It's just fun. Guys egg you on but it doesn't bother me, it's always a good thing and you get used to it. I don't pay attention to it."
Flood, 22, started twice when Shalrie Joseph was injured last season, plus once in the US Open Cup (a 4-2 win at Rochester).
"The circumstances weren't the greatest," Flood said of entering the match against Chicago as a 12th-minute replacement for Khano Smith.
"But we did well in the second half, we showed some pride out there. We took a little bit of a stand and had some chances."
Just for kicks
Former Revolution midfielder Jose Cancela is again taking penalty kicks for his team. Cancela scored CA Fenix' only goal on a penalty in a 3-1 loss to Defensor Sporting in Uruguay's Clausura season Sunday. Cancela was the Revolution's regular penalty taker until his failed attempt to chip goalkeeper Jon Busch in added time of a 2-1 loss to Columbus June 6, 2004 . . . Costa Rican power CD Saprissa is strongly favored to advance against the Dynamo after playing to a 0-0 tie at Robertson Stadium in the first leg of the semifinals of the Champions Cup. The teams will be rematched tomorrow at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in the San Jose suburb of Tibas, where Saprissa has a 4-0-1 record against MLS teams. The Revolution were the first MLS team to visit Saprissa, playing to a 2-2 tie in a preseason exhibition Feb. 21, 2001.
