Brotherly Game Archive
Preview Chat: Talking The New England Revolution With The Bent Musket
The Brotherly Game chatted with SB Nation's The Bent Musket about the New England Revolution ahead of today's game between the two teams at PPL Park. Steve Stoehr, managing editor of The Bent Musket, answered some of our questions and I answered his over on TBM.
Scott Kessler: Philadelphia Union head coach John Hackworth almost said to the team’s media yesterday that there is no rivalry whatsoever with the Revolution. How does the Massachusetts club and its fan base feel about such a situation? Is there a rivalry? Or is this so called rivalry week a farce for these two sides?
SK: Last season it was Saer Sene who absolutely dominated the Union in their first match up of the year. Who do you foresee being the Sene of this weekend’s game?
SS: It could be one of a few players. Jerry Bengtson already got off the mark this season, so he could very well be the goalscorer that puts you guys down. However, he doesn’t have the all-around game that Sene does, so in that vein, I might go with Lee Nguyen or Juan Toja instead. Hell, it could be Kelyn Rowe for all I know. It’s too early and this attack is still a bit raw for me to make a prediction like that with any kind of accuracy. All I know is that the four players I just mentioned all played well against Chicago, and have the potential to play even better on any given Saturday.
SK: Speaking of Sene, how has he done in his rehab and come back from a major injury that ended his 2012 season early?
SK: Is Jerry Bengston living up to his somewhat hyped up transfer to the Revolution? He showed signs of becoming a major striker in Major League Soccer last year, but seemed to ebb and flow in his play. Do you expect him to clash well with Jeff Parke and Amobi Okugo on Saturday?
SK: Just as you asked me, what do you project as the starting 11 and the scoreline?
SS: I doubt there will be any major change to the starting XI, except maybe to bring Rowe into the starting lineup in place of Donnie Smith. Look for something like this:
4-2-3-1, L to R: Reis; Alston, Goncalves, Soares, Farrell; Cisse, Simms; Rowe, Toja, Nguyen; Bengtson
I’ll predict a 1-1 draw. We have zero luck at PPL, and while we turned around a long run of bad results at Toyota Park last week, I don’t expect lightning to strike twice. I also don’t think the Union are strong enough to boss us around, even at home, so I’m hoping the Revs won’t lose.
