- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – If momentum is a tangible thing in Major League Soccer, no one has more right to be disappointed about the off week for international play than the New England Revolution.
After a hard-fought Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Columbus Crew, the Revs, who are 11-1-1 over their last 13 matches, wish they could kick off their series against New York as soon as possible. But as coach Jay Heaps noted following their win last Sunday, “Can’t control it. Every team has to deal with it.”
Instead, the focus turns toward using the time to properly rejuvenate a team that has worked so hard down the stretch.
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“It allows guys to get a little bit of rest,” Heaps told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. ”At the same time we’ve already started preparing for the next week, because we want to be ready for a good New York team.”
Added captain Jose Goncalves: “The rest is the most important part of soccer. We need to take advantage of this time to rest, to have everyone 100 percent for the next game. Also, to relax your mind, because we have been working very hard the last few weeks.”
Although their training session on Tuesday was a bit lighter than normal, the players who were on the pitch for New England were going full bore, something they know they need to do to keep their game on point.
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Andrew Farrell, who missed last Sunday’s second-leg victory over the Crew with a right leg injury, was working with the training staff in hopes of getting back with to full team duties next week. Even Shalrie Joseph, a mainstay on the injury report this season, was back on the training field.
With momentum on their side, the rest portion of the extra week between games will have to wait until the weekend, when the Revs will have a couple of off days.
“You want keep the rhythm,” defender Chris Tierney told MLSsoccer.com. “When you have had a run of results like we’ve had here, you want the next game to come quick. We’ll make sure we push each other in training this week. I think we’ve done a good job at that. We’re not taking our foot off the gas because we realize how important this momentum is.”
