As the Black & Gold were battling to hold onto three points against New England just a few short weeks ago, there was a palpable intensity on the Crew Stadium pitch. Each touch felt like it might shift the MLS Cup Playoff standings; in the end, it was Steve Clark's fingertip save that preserved the victory for the Crew in a passionately fought encounter.
Now that the calendar has shifted to October and the matches continue to grow in importance, you can expect a similar fight from the Black & Gold each and every time out.
"These last four games, they're going to be more intense by nature," said Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. "Teams are playing for their lives, you know? You can't control that sometimes. Our key is being able to settle down and move the ball around. It costs the opponent a lot of energy."
While Berhalter said that his side was doing a good job of being grounded in its preparation this week, winger Ethan Finlay acknowledged that Saturday's meeting with the Revs brings out just a bit more.
"It's been competitive," said Finlay on the season series, which the Crew leads by a 2-0-0 record. "Obviously the last game was pretty chippy. They're looking for points, we're looking for points -- I think we match up very well together."
One area where this game figures to be vastly different from the previous two is the presence of a fully healthy Jermaine Jones. The Revs' prize summer signing was not fully healthy in his debut MLS appearance at Crew Stadium, limited to a 45-minute stint in the second half. Jones' strike from distance gave the Revs a 3-2 victory at Sporting Kansas City last weekend, and he appears to be 100% headed into tomorrow's clash.
"He controls the game … He's very active," said Berhalter. "What we want to do is close him down, not give him enough time to play."
"With Jermaine Jones on the field, it changes the game a bit," added striker Aaron Schoenfeld. "They key for us is having to shut him down. Obviously with a guy like Lee Nguyen, [we need to] shut him down too. If we can contain those two guys, we'll be fine."
For the Crew, an opportunity to flip with New England in the standings awaits, and it's an opportunity the side doesn't want to let slip.
"We want to go into each game with a winning mentality," said Schoenfeld. "We want to take as many points as possible right now so it doesn't go down to the wire. We know we're going to New England and we know they're a good opponent, so we have to be ready."
