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Revolution-Red Bulls Preview

Oct 20, 2010 - 3:26 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

New England (9-15-5) at New York (14-9-6), 7:30 p.m. EDT

A victory in their regular-season finale would assure the New York Red Bulls of finishing atop the Eastern Conference for the first time in 10 years. Facing the upset-minded New England Revolution makes that far from a certainty.

The Red Bulls will try to complete their worst-to-first turnaround by getting their first win over the Revolution in more than five years Thursday night.

New York (14-9-6) has already clinched a playoff spot, and leads the conference by one point over second-place Columbus one season after finishing with an MLS-low 21 points.

A win Thursday would give the Red Bulls their first conference title since 2000, while a tie or loss will leave them waiting for Sunday when the Crew meet expansion Philadelphia. New York fell short in its bid to clinch first place Saturday, getting upset 2-1 by the Union on the road.

"No game is easy in this league but we play at home now," assistant coach Richie Williams told the team's official website. "We're confident we can go out there and win the Eastern Conference in this our last game."

New York is 9-3-2 at Red Bull Arena, going unbeaten in its last four there (3-0-1) while outscoring opponents 6-1.

The Red Bulls, however, are 0-8-6 against the Revolution since a 5-4 victory on Sept. 17, 2005. That streak continued with a 3-2 loss at New England on May 29.

The Revolution, who have missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001, are relishing the role of spoiler. They ended Kansas City's playoff hopes with a 1-0 win Saturday, and now would like to damage the Red Bulls' chances of an East title.

"We played spoiler (last) weekend against Kansas City and to kind of spoil New York and make them have a little bit of a tougher road going to win MLS Cup would be big-time for us," defender Darrius Barnes said. "Anything we can do to kind of throw a little pebble or rock in the road for them, we're going to try to do."

New England (9-15-5) is also trying for its first three-game winning streak since Aug. 20-29, 2009, and Shalrie Joseph will likely play a role in those efforts.

The midfielder has scored in consecutive games, giving him four goals with a team-high five assists on the season.

The Red Bulls will try to withstand the absence of Thierry Henry, who will miss a second game with a right knee strain. The French forward has two goals and three assists in 11 games.

Juan Pablo Angel will do his best to help compensate. Angel is tied for third in MLS with 13 goals and considered a contender for league MVP honors, but he has one goal in his last eight appearances and has reportedly said this is his last season with the Red Bulls.

Angel scored against New England in May.