Foxborough, MA (Sports Network) - The Columbus Crew will be returning to
action for the first time in three weeks on Saturday when the club visits
Gillette Stadium to face the New England Revolution.
The Crew carries a five-game unbeaten streak into the match after securing a
2-1 win over the Chicago Fire last time out on May 26, while the Revs also
defeated Chicago in their last match, beating the Fire 2-0 on June 2.
New England has posted a 4-1-1 mark at Gillette Stadium this season, and is
unbeaten at home in its last four games.
And with four of the team's next five contests coming on home soil, Jay Heaps
will be hoping his team can continue a run of seven points from its last four
games.
One player who has emerged for Heaps' side is rookie Kelyn Rowe, who came off
the bench to score a goal and assist on another in the 2-0 win over the Fire.
"He's been pushing hard lately," Heaps said of Rowe. "I think you saw when he
came into the game, there was a different buzz about him. He almost scored the
first time. It was a great run... Then the first and second goals were
beautiful from Kelyn. He's smart, he's played quickly. We like getting him in
those situations where he can be a dynamic attacker for us."
The win over Chicago also marked the second clean sheet of the season for the
Revs, with the first coming March 24 against Portland.
Columbus has also been boosted by a good run of form from one of its forwards
as striker Emilio Renteria has scored in back-to-back games after going the
first 10 matches of the season without a goal.
Renteria scored eight times last term for the Crew, and although he is pleased
with his recent run, he knows that more goals must follow in order for him to
feel like he is doing his job.
"I feel better, but I'm always under pressure because it's my job to score
goals," Renteria said. "Thats what I want to do. That's why I decided to be a
forward. The most important thing is the team won and I helped not only
scoring, but doing everything the coach asked. I'm happy for the three
points."
The lengthy time off has allowed rookie forward Aaron Schoenfeld to recover
from a foot injury, but a number of Crew players are back on the sidelines as
midfielders Dilly Duka and Milovan Mirosevic as well as defenders Shaun
Francis and Nemanja Vukovic are battling injuries.
Columbus sustained a surprising 2-1 defeat to Dayton Dutch Lions at Crew
Stadium in the U.S. Open Cup, but coach Robert Warzycha will be hoping his
team can rebound and continue its run of success against the Revs in recent
years.
In the last 10 matches between the two sides, Columbus has won seven games
with a draw while New England's last home win in the series came back on Oct.
14, 2006.
The Sports Network