FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – While the New England Revolution were held scoreless for the third straight week, the good news was that they were able to overcome the absence of two starters on the back line to post a first shutout of the season in Saturday’s scoreless draw against Montreal.
The lack of production in the attack is certainly a concern, but Revs coach Jay Heaps focused on the patchwork back line’s solid performance.
Darrius Barnes and Jeremy Hall were inserted into the starting lineup for suspended captain Jose Goncalves and injured right back Kevin Alston, with both fill-ins performing admirably to help New England snag their first point of the season.
Their task was made slightly easier by the absence of Montreal playmaker Ignacio Piatti and the early injury to Impact forward Cameron Porter, but that did not dampen Heaps’ praise of the duo in his postgame press conference.
“When you lose two starting guys from the last game, you've got to make some adjustments,” Heaps said. “I really thought Darrius and Jeremy came in and did a great job. I don’t think we were under as much pressure, but at the same time, we dealt with the counter, and those were the more important things to deal with: taking up the right positions when we were on the attack.”
Hall, making his Revolution debut, made five interceptions at right back while breaking forward on numerous occasions with the rush.
Barnes, who started 16 games for the Revs a year ago, was a strong presence at center back, pairing well with Andrew Farrell to keep danger out of the penalty area as the two combined for 12 clearances in and around the 18.
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“I was really happy with Darrius,” said Heaps. “Darrius is the kind of player that helps a coach sleep at night, because you can put him anywhere and you know he’s going to be up for the game. He brings it every day in training, and he brought today in the game.”
With New England thin on the back line – they have only seven true defenders listed on the active roster – the positive response from Barnes and Hall was an important step for the Revolution, who will look for their first win of the season next weekend against San Jose.
“It’s progress from the last two games,” said Farrell. “Keeping a shutout is huge for us.I think Jeremy and Darrius kept us in it.”
