It’s not all good news for the New England Revolution after the club went into Columbus and dispatched the Crew in the first leg of their playoff series.
Sure, the Revs pulled out a 4-2 win, but New England midfielder and USMNT star Jermaine Jones has been hit in the bank account.
Jones has been fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Soccer for diving after an altercation with Columbus defender Waylon Francis, who raised his elbow towards the Revs midfielder but didn’t strike the midfielder
Jones went down to the pitch, and now is down some dough.
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Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter would take that payment in goals, to be sure. The Crew need to win by three goals to advance in regulation, or 4-2 in New England.
It’s forced the Crew boss to evaluate his lineup for Sunday’s second leg. From MLSSoccer.com:“All those things are possibilities,” he said. “We certainly believe that we can score three goals, but we’re considering everything. Because this is it, our season is on the line, and we know that.”
Berhalter said he hopes to have his lineup decided by Friday, but isn’t planning on making wholesale changes to his starting XI.
“I think it’s pretty clear this week,” he said. “We have a group of probably 18 guys that we’re pulling from to be potential starters, and that’s what we’re looking at. With the season on the line, we’re not going to change too much, but there could be some slight alterations to the lineup.”
Kickoff in New England is set for 5pm ET on Sunday.