Twellman impressive in Revs win
Recovering forward enjoys busy, productive night vs. Richmond
In the grand scheme of things, the Revs were likely to win this game whether Twellman played or not, such was the possession advantage New England enjoyed.
Twellman has missed all but two games this season as he struggled to overcome knee and ankle injuries. But with the fixture schedule piling up and SuperLiga on the horizon, Twellman's return becomes important even with the success of replacements Kheli Dube and Adam Cristman.
The report on Twellman's first start: 73 minutes, one goal, one should-have-been goal if not for a handball call, tidy buildup play, and lots of running.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol thinks his star striker did well as he tries to return to match fitness.
"He did well tonight and he scored a great goal," Nicol said. "He got 73 minutes behind him."
Twellman said it was nice to get back onto the field and get back into the lockerroom with his teammates.
"We'll see tomorrow morning," Twellman said about his fitness. "The goal didn't matter to me. It was good to be out there. I got kicked a couple of times. That was good for me too."
The result was also good for the Revolution, who started reserves except for Twellman and Kenny Mansally and saw little dropoff in performance on one of the soggier fields in recent memory after a 1-hour, 50-minute delay.
"This is an important game for these players," Nicol said, citing Sainey Nyassi's progression from Open Cup play last year to a starting role this season. "Was it the first team? No."
One of those players, Chris Tierney, stated his case for further inclusion with two assists and a bevy of dangerous crosses.
Tierney said it took his team a while to adapt to the surface before hitting its stride in the second half.
"It was tougher for us in the first half," Tierney said. "The surface wasn't really rolling right. It makes crossing balls difficult."
Stand-in goalkeeper Doug Warren made a couple of crucial saves and said that his team wasn't troubled once the team managed to spread out the Kickers and get that service into the box.
"For us, it was all about settling down and getting it wide," Warren said. "It was like playing halfcourt offense."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
