New England center back Dave Romney is braced for a full-frontal assault from an offense he is very familiar with.
The Revolution (2-1-0) will look to regain their winning formula when they host Nashville SC (2-0-1) in a clash of MLS Eastern Conference contenders on Saturday night (7:30) at Gillette Stadium.
The Revolution opened the season with clean sheet victories over Charlotte FC and the Houston Dynamo, but were blitzed 4-0 last Sunday by reigning MLS champion Los Angeles FC at BMO Stadium.
Revolution head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena acquired Romney in a cash deal with Nashville SC on Jan 5. Arena paid out $250,000 in General Allocation money in 2023 and $275,000 of GA due in 2024.
Romney participated in the Revolution’s preseason friendly against Nashville SC, a 1-0 victory at Al Lang Stadium on Feb. 10. But Romney is expecting the real deal to show up when the two teams collide in the Revs’ second home match.
“I am excited to play Nashville again,” said Romney. “We got to play them in the preseason so a lot of those jitters of playing against your old team again, they are kind of out of the way. This one means a lot more than a preseason friendly.”
Nashville has not surrendered a goal this season and the Revolution could be without central midfielder and 2021 league MVP Carles Gil, who did not practice on Thursday with an undisclosed ailment.
Midfielders Tommy McNamara and Nacho Gil remain on the injured list, and Arena does not feel striker Gustavo Boa, an Argentinian national who missed training camp with VISA issues, is ready to step in.
Nashville SC coach Gary Smith has eight years of MLS experience and is in his fourth season in Tennessee. Romney began his career with the LA Galaxy and arrived in Nashville at the same time as Smith, who has since compiled a 35-21-38 mark and produced last season’s MVP, attacker Hany Mukhtar.
Romney spent three seasons on Smith’s watch so he understands points of emphasis the coach stresses with his players.
“The emphasis of a Gary Smith team is being extremely sound structurally and being tough to break down,” said Romney. “They have two blocks of four, having your forwards working really hard and then kind of beating them up on the counter.
“We are aware of that and it is going to be a really tough test. They haven’t conceded a goal yet.”
Romney will be making his 175th MLS appearance and he has been a pivotal component of the Revs’ early success. With Revolution ironman center back Andrew Farrell out with an injury, Romney filled the void alongside Henry Kessler. Romney has started three games and logged 270 minutes.
“He has been good, he’s had a number of good games,” said Arena. “Our back line didn’t play well in LA, but Dave has been pretty solid in the preseason and the start of the regular season.
“He is a good leader and a good communicator and that is something we needed and he has been pretty consistent in his play.”
