FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If the New England Revolution want to mount an improbable playoff push, they cannot afford to wait any longer to make it.
Head coach Steve Nicol's side sits nine points out of the 10th and final playoff spot heading into Wednesday night's match against the Houston Dynamo (8 pm ET, watch LIVE online). With just nine matches left to play after the impending affair with the Dynamo, the Revs need to start picking up wins and working their way up the table to keep their postseason dreams alive.
“It sucks being at that point in the season where you have to win games and, if you don't, you're done,” Revolution defender Ryan Cochrane told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday morning. “That's the way the game goes. We've got 10 games left and we're on the door of missing the playoffs already. We have to do whatever we can to get points, especially at home.”
After picking up five points in three consecutive road matches last month, the Revs have hit the skids in August with back-to-back defeats to Chivas USA and the Columbus Crew. In order to kick off this critical two-game homestand — the New York Red Bulls visit Gillette Stadium on Saturday — with the desired three points, the Revs must maintain their concentration for 90 minutes and stop leaking suspect goals at the back, according to Nicol.
“There's no question we need points,” Nicol said. “The only way we're going to do that is by not making mistakes and giving goals away.”
It won't be easy to stop the defensive rot (six goals conceded in the past two matches) against a Dynamo side that put pressure on their opponents by playing quickly through midfield and sending a barrage of crosses into the penalty area.
Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear has augmented his squad over the past month or two — Brian Ching has returned from injury to partner Honduran international striker Carlo Costly, while Adam Moffat has settled well into a holding midfield role since arriving from Portland — to infuse fresh life into a side already receiving standout campaigns from the likes of Geoff Cameron, Brad Davis, André Hainault and Tally Hall.
“They've kind of gotten a little bit of a revitalization,” Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis said. “They've gotten some players and made some trades. They've gotten some results recently. They're going to be a feisty team — it's always a physical battle when we play them.”
Nicol will have to once again omit Franco Coria (left MCL sprain), Rajko Lekic (right great toe fracture) and Sainey Nyassi (right MCL sprain) from his squad as the Revs seek to halt their recent two-game skid and prolong the Dynamo's winless record on the road this season (0-4-7).
Despite Houston's struggles away from home and the Revs' dominance in the series (6-2-3 all-time, though Houston won the previous meeting 1-0 at Robertson Stadium on April 17), Reis said he believes it will take a complete team performance to secure the desired three points.
“There is a chance to move up the ladder, but the time is now,” Reis said. “We can't wait until next week or the next game. We need to start getting results and start putting in better performances all around. We can't have seven guys have a good game and three or four guys not have a good game. We all have to have good games and we all have to put in great performances.”
