New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps had a dilemma ahead of him when trying to pick Saturday night's lineup for the New England Revolution match against the Chicago Fire. Injuries and a suspension left him with barely enough available players to fill the bench, let alone put out a strong starting eleven.
Blair Gavin, the midfielder who arrived in Foxboro as the make-weight in the Shalrie Joseph trade in August, earned his first start for the Revolution, pairing up with Clyde Simms in central midfield. Gavin was a highly-touted talent out of college just a few seasons ago, and will be looking to end 2012 on a high note after injuries largely derailed his year.
Diego Fagundez was moved back into midfield to plug some depth issues on the wing. He was replaced up top by Dimitry Imbongo, who will pair with Honduran hot-hand Jerry Bengtson.
The defense again features an out-of-position Ryan Guy at right-back, and remains unchanged from the unit that faced Philadelphia two weeks ago.
Lineups
Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth; Kevin Alston, A.J. Soares, Darrius Barnes, Guy; Fagundez, Simms, Gavin, Kelyn Rowe; Imbongo, Bengtson
Bench: Reis, Brettschneider, Cardenas, Nyassi, Purdie, Tierney, Toja
Fire: Johnson; Anibaba, Gargan, Berry, Segares; Fernandez, Rolfe, Pause, Paladini; Nyarko, MacDonald
Bench: Tornaghi, Bone, Alex, Friedrich, Oduro, Pineda, Videira
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