FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It was never in Jay Heaps’ game plan to use Designated Player Jermaine Jones along the backline.
Injuries ultimately forced the New England Revolution head coach’s hand, but the decision was made easier by the fact that he knew he had a valuable, versatile piece in Jones who could seamlessly slot in at center back, a position he most recently took up with the US national team.
Jones has made four straight starts at central defense for the Revolution, with defensive leader Jose Goncalves continuing to deal with a nagging calf injury, and he has impressed Heaps while helping New England to a 3-0-1 mark during that stretch.
“I think he’s really good,” Heaps said of Jones play with the defensive unit. “When you sign a player like a Jermaine, I think that he doesn’t get credit for it, but his versatility, his ability to play anywhere, I think that’s really important as a coach.”
Jones has let it be known in the past that his comfort zone on the pitch comes when he is playing central midfield, but in the face of the Goncalves injury and the loss of versatile defender Darrius Barnes for six months to a knee injury, he stepped up to the task of sliding back.
It hasn’t all been pretty, notably the two late goals scored by Orlando City SC on Friday, erasing a 2-0 Revs lead in an eventual 2-2 draw. But Jones has provided leadership and a tenacious presence to the defensive unit while also utilizing his midfield skillset to help the team push forward. New England has scored 10 times in the four matches with Jones at center back, while yielding only four goals to their opponents.
“We’ve missed Jose; he’s been out and we’ve been able to transition quickly into that,” Heaps said. “Where we have some depth is in the middle, so Jermaine slides back to center back. To me he’s one of the better passing center backs in the league.
“He’s also a great midfielder. So it’s great to have those types of options and be able to gameplan based upon where we think we’re going to need him most.”
Craig Forde covers the New England Revolution for MLSsoccer.com.
