Strikerless Revs battle Joe Public for survival in CONCACAFJoe Public FC of Trinidad and Tobago fight it out for survival at the New England Revolution in the second leg of the preliminary round of the CONCACAF tournament later tonight. The Revs lost the away match 2-1, but will move on to confront Mexican nemesis Atlante if they beat Joe Public by 1-0. Ties are broken by away goals, and Mauricio Castro scored it on a penalty in the first round. The striking powers of Joe Public (owned by FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president Jack Warner), Gregory Richardson and Jamal Gay, were more than the Revolution anticipated.
“One-nil puts us through,” said coach Steve Nicol. “We have to make sure we don’t lose a goal. The first thing we have to do is make sure we are tight at the back, and we have to try to figure out how we’ll get the ball in the back of the net.”
Scoring is the problem, as all four strikers including Taylor Twellman, who took a gash to the head scoring the first goal against the LA Galaxy, are injured and not expected to play. Nor is Steve Ralston. Shalrie Joseph has stepped in with game winning goals, but his job is controlling the midfield. Khano Smith, unknown rookie Joe Germanese (who scored in Open Cup and looked dangerous in his few minutes in Trinidad), and Wells Thompson will show up under pressure.
”I can score goals,” asserted Thompson, who tallied twice last year. “I led my team in senior year in scoring goals. It’s something I want to do here … I’m not a selfish player and I don’t just want individual stats, but it’s something I want to prove I can do at this level.”
“I started off the year with a bone spur, then I separated my shoulder, then I was sick for a couple weeks,” explained Thompson. “In the middle of the year my confidence took a big hit, and I’m one of those players that need my confidence to play my best. That’s something I’ve been working on is trying to get my confidence back, and I feel that I’ve done that.”
But Thompson is more recently recognized for his collection of yellow cards, including one in his first minute against Joe Public and matching yellows with Eddie Lewis of the Galaxy this Saturday. “I just reacted to something he did to me that I didn’t like,” said Thompson. “It was stupid, I should have kept my cool, that’s something I’m trying to learn to do … I broke the record for the most cards in college.”
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