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Sports

Revs aim to snap horrid run at FCD

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The New England Revolution will aim to halt their horrid run of form on Saturday when the club heads to Toyota Stadium to face FC Dallas.

New England is in the midst of a six-game losing skid, a poor stretch that has dropped the club from its perch atop the Eastern Conference.

The Revs, entering the weekend nine points back of first-place Sporting Kansas City, were thrashed in their last outing, suffering a 5-1 road loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday.

"It is a disappointing game all the way around," said Revs head coach Jay Heaps. "You give up two goals, and the first one you just tip your hat, but the second and third goal to me are the two that really broke our back, and you can't do that, it is just not good enough. We as a staff have to get better, we as a group have to get better; we have a quick turnaround so we have to move on."

Saturday's clash is the second in New England's two-game road swing, but while the Revs are on short rest and a cross-country travel schedule, Dallas has not played a league match since July 4.

Several Dallas players used the break as an opportunity to rest, but rookie striker Tesho Akindele was not relishing the time off.

Akindele missed a couple of key scoring chances in FCD's scoreless draw with the Columbus Crew on June 29, but he made amends by netting the opening goal in the club's 2-1 defeat of the Philadelphia Union last time out.

"It felt great," Akindele said about scoring his second goal of the year. "As a striker you've got to believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, you're not going to score. I had confidence in myself and it paid off."

After the match, Akindele earned plaudits from his head coach, who insinuated that the 22-year-old is a key component of the club's plans going forward.

"Sometimes we don't notice how a rookie can come back from a performance like he had at Columbus," head coach Oscar Pareja said after Friday's win. "He knows that those (chances) are normally back of the net. He didn't lose confidence. Today he looked in my eyes and said 'I'll get those goals back.' That shows character and we trust him and he's showing us that we were not wrong."

Dallas enters Saturday's affair on a four-match unbeaten streak, a run that has helped the side stay in the playoff hunt by maintaining fifth place in the Western Conference with 26 points.