FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – If recent history has taught us anything, it’s that the New England Revolution has no qualms about playing an aggressive, attacking style away from home.
Stats alone don’t tell the entire story, but they paint a pretty vivid picture – the Revs have scored multiple goals in five of their last six games away from Gillette Stadium, including a four-goal haul in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Columbus Crew.
That offensive explosion at Crew Stadium put the Revs in firm control of the series, due in part to the away-goals rule, in effect for the first time in Major League Soccer this season.
The Revs will begin another series away from home when they visit the New York Red Bulls for the first leg of the Eastern Conference Championship this weekend, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be throwing caution to the wind in search of those precious away goals.
“We’re definitely going to play smart,” said Charlie Davies, who scored twice in that 4-2 win at Crew Stadium. “Our goal is to win; whether that’s 1-0 or 4-0 or 4-2 or 4-3, whatever it may be – the ultimate goal is to win the game. In this case, we know they’re very dangerous on the counterattack.”
New York’s attacking quartet of Thierry Henry, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Peguy Luyindula and Lloyd Sam pose a significant threat on the break, meaning the Revs will need to employ a cautious approach any time they push numbers forward. As much as New England would love to return home for the second leg with an away goal or two in their pocket, falling behind by multiple goals could spell serious trouble.
“They’re more dangerous on the counter than Columbus,” said Lee Nguyen, who also had a pair of goals in the 7-3 aggregate win over the Crew. “You’ve got the Golden Boot winner for MLS (Wright-Phillips) on that team, and you have Henry, so two guys who can change the game at any moment in time.”
The Revs may well take a thoughtful approach to the proceedings on Sunday, but at its core, New England is an attack-minded team. There will be times when that mentality shines through as the Revs look to continue the form which has seen them go 4-1-1 in their last six road games.
“We’re confident going on the road and playing and beating a team, so that’s what we’re going to try to do,” said A.J. Soares. “But it’s going to be tough. New York’s in the Eastern Conference Championship for a reason. They definitely deserve to be there and they’re not easy to play in New York.”
