Revs show improvement in tie with Fire

New England's focus on quality pays off with point against Chicago

By Kyle McCarthy / MLSnet.com Staff

New England defender Jeff Larentowicz shields the ball from the Fire's Brian McBride. (Getty)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- All of the talk on the Gillette Stadium training field this week focused on quality. New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol didn't think there was enough of it in last Saturday's 1-0 loss to Columbus and demanded substantial improvement ahead of Chicago's visit on Saturday night.

While the Revolution didn't get the win they wanted after a 0-0 draw against the Fire, Nicol said he thought his side improved considerably from its performance against the Crew.

"Overall, we can't complain," Nicol said. "We put them under pressure. We knocked it around decently at times and we gave everything. That's all you can ask for from the players. Obviously, you want to score goals, but sometimes, it doesn't go for you. It didn't go for us tonight."

New England dominated in possession, but struggled to create gilt-edged chances in the final third. The half-chances generated went begging as the Revs lacked the sharp, finishing touch to partner with the dangerous wide play from Kevin Alston and Sainey Nyassi down the right and the hustle and bustle through the middle.

"We had enough balls into the penalty box," Nicol said. "We created enough havoc. I don't think we created one complete clear chance that we should have scored, but there's a lot of stuff bouncing around there. You just need to have somebody in there with the instinct to pounce on it. We didn't have that tonight. That was the real thing we were missing tonight."

Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph credited Edgaras Jankauskas for helping to spark the attack upon his return to the lineup after missing three matches with a strained right adductor. Jankauskas' ability to hold the ball allowed the Revs to build through him and get extra numbers into dangerous spots, according to Joseph.

"The quality was better a little bit in the first half and a little bit in the second half," Joseph said. "Having Eddie up there (helped). Eddie holds the ball and brings us into the attack. That's what we've been missing all year, a target forward. Without that, we don't create many chances in the attacking third."

Pressing extra numbers into the attack opened up spaces at the back and Chicago nearly exploited them on a couple of occasions as Chris Rolfe and Baggio Husidic just missed capping off a pair of Fire counterattacks in style. Nicol said those holes were part and parcel of trying to grasp the initiative and hunt for a sorely needed victory.

"When you're trying to go forward like we did, you're going to leave holes, but we kept a clean sheet and that's the bottom line," Nicol said.

While one point was enough to keep New England tied for the eighth and final playoff spot with D.C. United, FC Dallas and Toronto FC heading into the final weekend, it wasn't enough to keep the Revolution's fate in their own hands heading into next Sunday's season finale in Columbus.

The congestion at the bottom of the playoff table means the Revs will almost certainly have to defeat the Crew and hope other results fall their way in order to seal a playoff spot. They'll also have to defeat Columbus without the services of assistant coach Paul Mariner, who resigned after the game to take up a coaching position at English Championship club Plymouth Argyle.

Even with the difficult circumstances ahead, Revolution midfielder Sainey Nyassi believes the Revs can carry the positives from the draw against the Fire into the do-or-die clash at Crew Stadium.

"We played a good game, we just didn't get lucky," Nyassi said. "We created enough chances, but we couldn't finish it. I think we still have the chance to make the playoffs. We'll go to Columbus and go all out to get the three points. Hopefully, if we get the three points, we'll qualify. Right now, we have to rely on the other teams."

Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com.