New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena made a number of acquisitions in the course of the off season and heart again Dave Romney has made the most important affect.
A case might be made for striker Bobby Wood, who’s second on the group in scoring with six objectives and three assists. Wood supplied wanted scoring whereas Gustavo Bou sat out 9 video games with a leg damage and Dylan Borrero misplaced for the season with a torn ACL
But Romney has been a continuing defensive presence on a patchwork backline that has been repeatedly upended by accidents and worldwide callups. Romney was acquired in a commerce with Nashville SC for $575,000 typically allocation cash on Jan. 5.
Romney is the one Revolution participant to start out 18 video games and he’s logged a team-high 1,620 minutes, which is tied for ninth within the MLS. Romney will make his nineteenth consecutive begin when the third-place Revolution (9-3-6) host Toronto FC (3-6-10) within the closing match of a three-game homestand on Saturday night time (7:30) at Gillette Stadium.
The Revolution are unbeaten at house (6-0-3) and, with a win or a tie with Toronto, the membership would set a franchise file for the longest unbeaten streak to open a season
“When we traded for him (Romney), that’s what our expectations were, that he was going to be a regular for us,” stated Arena. “He has accomplished very effectively and he’s an skilled participant on this league.
“He is obviously a very fit athlete and he’s been able to play each and every game. He is a good leader on the field and off and sets a good example for the younger players. He has clearly done a very good job for this team.”
Romney was thrust right into a beginning position from the onset. Center again Andrew Farrell missed all of the preseason and the primary 5 video games with a leg damage.
Romney labored effectively with heart again Henry Kessler however their tenure was short-lived. Kessler began seven video games earlier than succumbing to a proper hamstring damage that required surgical procedure.
Right again Brandon Bye missed two video games with a shoulder damage whereas his alter ego, proper again DeJuan Jones, is off competing with the U.S. National Team within the Concacaf Gold Cup event.
Reliable back-up defender Christian Makoun was lately referred to as as much as compete for Venezuela and got here again with a leg damage. He is listed as out for the Toronto match.
The distinctive play of Romney and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic are what has saved the floodgates from being breached. Petrovic has six clear sheets and the Revolution have given up 22 objectives, 10 of which had been scored in three video games.
“It’s been impossible, we’ve shuffled through so many backlines throughout the course of the year,” stated Romney. “I’d be curious to see what number of completely different backlines we’ve began in our 18 video games.
“I believed we’ve accomplished extraordinarily effectively outdoors of a handful of video games. I feel now we have accomplished extraordinarily effectively at retaining groups to zero or one purpose for many video games and our offense is clicking extraordinarily effectively.
“I think for the number of times we’ve changed the backline we’ve been decent and it’s just another test this weekend.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com