Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen have been moved from wing midfield to central midfield.
Revolution coach Jay Heaps has shuffled some players around. FOXBOROUGH – New England Revolution coach Jay Heaps admittedly had been looking for an opportunity to move Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen from wing midfield to central midfield.
That opportunity presented itself Saturday and it paid off in a big way as the Revolution (2-3-2) blanked Philadelphia, 2-0, with Nguyen recording a goal and an assist and Rowe an assist.
“It’s something we’ve worked on for a few weeks, but we haven’t had the right opportunity to play it because of injuries,” Heaps said as his team prepared for a 6-hour flight to Portland, Ore., for Thursday’s game against the Timbers (3-1-4). “I felt the other night was the right time to do it, and it’s something we really like going forward.”
So does Rowe.
“It’s funny because that’s where Lee and I feel most comfortable, in center midfield,” Rowe said. “We find the ball a lot more. We can make easier runs, and we open a lot of spaces for each other.
“I know that Lee likes when I run off with him because he turns and finds me again. And there is that chemistry between Lee and I. We just want to play and make things happen. In (central) midfield is where we feel most comfortable.”
Heaps feels Rowe and Nguyen bring different skills to the proverbial table.
“They’re similar but they’re very different,” he said. “They both play an attacking midfield position well. But I think Lee is definitely looking to play guys through, and Kelyn has the ability to get behind defenses and penetrate.
“They’re not true wide players. They’re more diamond-and-underneath. We had formations last year with both of them involved as diamond and pinched in. The two of them are a good combination.”
Another good combination, albeit on defense, has been veteran A.J. Soares and rookie/No. 1 draft pick Andrew Farrell. But Soares again will be sidelined with a hamstring injury while Farrell is questionable at best because of a knee injury suffered against Philadelphia.
“We’re getting into our depth chart,” Heaps said. “We’re going to give guys that are itching (to play) an opportunity ... guys like Darrius (Barnes). Guys that have been playing hard for us are going to get an opportunity.
“I think Stephen McCarthy is a perfect example of that. Chris Tierney is a perfect example. Those guys have stepped up when Kevin (Alston, who’s been diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia) and A.J. went down, respectively. Opportunity is there.
“People wonder why we want to have depth in certain areas, and it’s because of situations like this where some things are in your control and most things like injuries are out of your control.”
Controlling Portland will be a definite challenge considering the short turnaround, plus the fact the Timbers are on a six-game unbeaten streak (3-0-3).
“Portland is a high-pressure team,” Heaps said. “They like to get up the field and press you. They look at it if we win it from you in your half we’re that much closer to scoring a goal.
“They’re playing at a high level, especially Ryan Johnson. For me their ‘X’ factor has been Rodney Wallace. I think he’s a player that’s having a resurgence. He always was playing outside back, but I think his true strength is forward. He’s shown that with a couple of goals this season.”