Mon Mar 31 18:59:40 2008

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Revs have knack for finding diamonds in the rough

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Foxborough, MA (Sports Network) - Coal is turned into diamonds through high temperature and intense pressure. The New England Revolution seem to have the process mastered.

New England found projects Shalrie Joseph (14th pick of '02 draft), Jeff Larentowicz (45th pick of '05 supplemental draft) and Adam Cristman (48th pick of '07 draft), among others, through good scouting and, through good coaching, turned them into Major League Soccer diamonds.

Add Taylor Twellman (second pick of '02 draft), Michael Parkhurst (ninth pick of '05 draft), Steve Ralston (sixth pick of '02 allocation draft) and Matt Reis, acquired in an '02 trade with Los Angeles, and the Revs have a pretty impressive track record of mining gems who slipped through the pans of others MLS clubs.

After Saturday's impressive 3-0 season opening win over back-to-back defending champions Houston, it looks like you can add more value to the Revs' jewelry box.

A pair of 19-year-old Gambians - Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi - had a coming out party, replacing injured starters and contributing a goal and numerous chances while helping fuel a dominant Revs attack against the best defensive club in MLS last season.

Both players were discovered and signed last summer by Revs coach Steve Nicol while playing for Gambia in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. Both made their first professional starts Saturday with both becoming the first teenagers to start opening day for the Revs.

Nyassi, in particular, was fantastic from his left wing position.

Mansally and Nyassi played pivotal roles in the game's first goal in the 16th minute. Nyassi, who was playing for the injured Wells Thompson, broke into the Houston third of the field, drove at the defense and slid a perfect through- ball to Mansally in the penalty area. Mansally fired on goal, forcing Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad to make the save, but Ralston cooly tapped in the rebound at the far post.

A couple slightly more polished gemstones, Larentowicz and Cristman, teamed up on another goal a little over 15 minutes later to give the Revs a 2-0 lead. After earning a free kick from about 25-yards out, Larentowicz blasted on goal. Onstad made the save but gave up a juicy rebound that Cristman headed home.

The third and final goal was a thing of pure beauty by the 5-foot-8, 135-pound Nyassi. He picked up the ball at midfield, sprinted toward goal, pulled off a stepover at full speed to leave the Dynamo defense in his dust, and blasted a shot past Onstad.

"We were right behind him and we were sitting waiting on the scissors," Nicol said of Nyassi's goal. "He does it all the time in training. Obviously he hadn't played a league game, so other people don't see him. But from the first minute to the 93rd minute, he's up and down the field. He was fantastic."

Granted, it was only one game, but Nyassi showed his quality, which should only improve as the season progresses.

"It's one game, albeit a great game for him, but it's one game," Nicol said. "He'll learn that when you have a performance like that, this is when the test comes - the next game. Is that a one-off or will you keep on producing that on a consistent level? So, fantastic performance, but the next couple of games are a test for him. He'll soon realize that every night is not going be like (Saturday's match). But his level of play was great tonight and I'm sure he'll get better and better."

Some heated comments by Nicol and some intense pressure placed on Nyassi.