Twellman made big impact in brief outing

In his first appearance of the season, in a 2-1 win over Chivas USA Sunday in Carson, Calif., Taylor Twellman showed what the Revolution offense had been missing. He also displayed the commitment, composure, and focus that have helped make him the most prolific US-born goal-scorer in the last six years.

Twellman missed the first seven games of the season because of right knee surgery but made a strong impact after starting the second half Sunday, scoring a goal. However, he also sustained a right ankle injury that could cause him to miss the Revolution's match against San Jose Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

After Twellman went down, the Revolution were prepared to replace him, but he recovered and finished the game.

The seriousness of the injury has not been determined, but Twellman judged the pain to be worse than when he broke his foot scoring a goal in Dallas five years ago. In that game, Twellman's left foot broke as he took a right-foot shot in the final minute of the first half; he returned to score again in the 60th minute, then was replaced midway through the second half and missed the rest of the season.

On Sunday, midfielder Jeff Larentowicz set up New England's first goal, sending Kenny Mansally in alone on Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the 18th minute. Mansally displayed extraordinary confidence in finishing the play, less than a minute after he had clashed with Guzan while chasing a Chivas backpass.

"I didn't get intimidated by him," Mansally said. "I am always thinking that they could play it back to the goalkeeper, so I was ready for that. There was a tall guy [Jim Curtin] back there and he was not that fast. So, any through ball, I thought I could beat him to it."

Mansally scored his second goal of the season, then was replaced by Twellman after halftime because of a slight leg strain.

"Taylor is always good to get a goal," Larentowicz said. "He also relieves pressure because he holds the ball up and he gets fouled a lot."

Indeed, Twellman was fouled by Shavar Thomas 29 seconds into his season debut. It took Twellman a few minutes to get into the rhythm, but his left-foot finish off a Steve Ralston through ball (59th minute) had exceptional power and timing.

Twellman appeared to have been injured after being twice hit from behind by Thomas in the 63d minute. After two minutes of recovery time, he returned and was in position for a header off a Wells Thompson cross in the 70th minute and shot wide off a Thompson-Kheli Dube combination in the 86th minute.

The Revolution (4-3-1, 13 points) are in third place in the overall MLS standings, but they have won only once in three home matches.

"We have to figure out a way to win at home," Larentowicz said. "We seem to concentrate more on the road."

Against Chivas, Revolution coach Steve Nicol placed Mauricio Castro and Ralston just behind Mansally, a lone striker, in a six-man midfield in the first half. The Revolution played cautiously in the first half, nearly scoring again in the 44th minute as a Ralston-Mansally combination set up Castro for a 30-yard blast that was tipped over the bar.

Then Nicol went to a two-striker setup, with Dube pairing with Twellman early in the second half. As Twellman noted, he might have converted at least once more if not for the injury.

Road work ahead

Former Lexington High School and Cape Cod Crusaders goalkeeper Ethan Zohn will dribble a soccer ball from Gillette Stadium, starting after the Revolution-D.C. United game Aug. 20, to Washington, D.C., as part of a Grassroots Soccer HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. Zohn, 34, was the initial "Survivor: Africa" television reality show winner and also played for Highlanders FC, Zimbabwe's most popular club. The Grassroots Soccer program, started by Dr. Tommy Clark and actor Andrew Shue, who both went from Dartmouth College to play for Highlanders, sets up programs for young Africans to learn to avoid HIV-related problems. Zohn and program director Bill Miles, a former University of Pennsylvania player, met with Dube, formerly of Highlanders, at a recent Revolution practice. Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari is a former Grassroots Soccer staff member . . . Nicol and Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner plan to visit Honduras to scout George Wilson Welcome, a U23 national team striker who trained with the Revolution last week. Welcome, 23, has been playing for Arsenal on the island of Roatan in the Liga de Ascenso (second division).

Sweet 17th

Manchester United (87 points) clinched the Premiership title, its 17th league championship, on the final day of the season with a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic Sunday. Runner-up Chelsea (85 points) surrendered a 90th-minute goal in a 1-1 tie with Bolton Wanderers, but even with a victory it would not have come close to overcoming United's advantage on goal difference of 17 entering the game. Fulham's 1-0 win at Portsmouth assured the Cottagers of remaining in the Premiership. Last year, former Revolution star Clint Dempsey's goal on the final day of the season kept Fulham from relegation; this time, a 76th-minute score by Danny Murphy made the difference . . . Marco Materazzi missed a 78th-minute penalty and Inter (82 points) twice squandered the lead in a 2-2 tie with Siena. A victory for Inter, which hosts Parma Sunday, would have given the club its 16th Italian Serie A scudetto. Roma (81 points), a 2-1 winner over Atalanta, concludes the season against Catania. Former Revolution coach/goalkeeper Walter Zenga is coaching Catania, which came within seconds of being assured of remaining in Serie A; a 90th-minute Alessandro Del Piero goal gave Juventus a 1-1 tie in Turin Sunday. Catania (36 points) leads Parma (34) and Empoli (33) in the race to avoid relegation. Zenga's son, Jacopo, a 21-year-old striker, has been training with Catania. But Catania's most valuable prospect is Peruvian left wing Juan Manuel Vargas, 24, who could go to Juventus in a 15 million euro transfer. Vargas joined the Sicilian club on a 2.2 million euro move from Colon de Santa Fe in Argentina.

High-priced talent

CD Guadalajara defender Francisco Javier Rodriguez will join PSV Eindhoven in July in a 3.2 million euro deal, one of the highest prices ever paid for a Mexican player. Some of the richest transfers of Mexican league players have been for defenders: Rafa Marquez went to Monaco for $6 million in 1999 and Carlos Salcido to PSV in '06 for 5 million euros. Only Andrés Guardado's move to Deportivo La Coruña (7 million euros) tops those figures among Mexican players in recent years . . . Former Mexican national team coach (and former Los Angeles Aztecs player) Javier Aguirre guided Atletico Madrid to a fourth-place finish in Spain's La Liga, qualifying for the Champions League preliminary round. Atletico Madrid (64 points), led by 19-year-old Argentine midfielder Sergio Aguero, defeated Deportivo La Coruna, 1-0, to tie Barcelona in the standings, ahead of Sevilla (61 points), a 2-0 winner over city rivals Real Betis.

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