Revs Aim to Rebound at C-bus
- Updated: May 3, 2017
Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz
Revolution center back Antonio Mlinar Delamea didn’t need to watch the film of Saturday’s deflating 3-3 draw at Seattle to know improvements would be needed ahead of this weekend’s clash at Columbus.
After New England conceded three goals in the final 15 against the Sounders, Delamea is keenly aware of what not to do against Crew SC on Saturday – and what it’ll take to avoid another collapse.
“We know we made some big mistakes and where our weakness is,” Delamea told the media on Tuesday. “We need to build and fix these mistakes. Now, we have a new road game in Columbus. We know their strengths, so we have a whole week to prepare and we need to take every training [seriously].”
Although the Crew SC attack doesn’t boast the same arsenal brandished by the Sounders last weekend, the Revolution won’t be taking Gregg Berhalter’s bunch lightly. And with good reason.
Columbus has scored multiple goals in six of their last seven, and have amassed a conference-best 10 goals at home. Individually, Ola Kamara’s five tallies makes him one of the formidable forwards the Revolution will face to date this season. Oh, and then there’s noted Revs killer Federico Higuain, who’ll be looking build on that reputation come Saturday.
But keeping a close eye on Kamara and Higuain won’t be the only thing the Revolution must do to avoid another defensive breakdown.
“We need to keep possession,” Delamea said. “If we keep possession, they will get tired. When we can push our defensive line higher, then it’s also easier for us, because when you’re under the pressure almost 90 minutes of the game, it’s very exhausting for the whole team.”
Holding the ball will be one order of business for the locals, no doubt. Another area of improvement will be defending crosses, which the Revolution failed to do against Seattle – and with disastrous results.
“You’ve got to get close enough to prevent the cross as best you can,” Revolution midfielder Scott Caldwell told the media on Tuesday. “Even if it’s just to slow them down and make the runs already happen in the box, then everyone will be static in the box and it will make it easier to defend. So there are different ways. You’ve got to mark tight.”
For a team that’s dropped points in each of their last three, the Revolution must show they mean business at Columbus. And Delamea knows that mindset must be brought to the training ground as well.
“We need to focus on improving every day,” Delamea said, “and to fix these things we didn’t do [at Seattle].”
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