Despite Loss, Reasons to Hope for Revs

Chivas scored more goals than New England Saturday night, the only way to measure wins and losses. In the end it was another loss for the Revolution and the second to Chivas USA this season. Again, New England had less possession than their opponent; though it was closer than the 60-40 split we have more typically suffered this season.Hopes of post-season wins for the Revolution might disappear before students go back to school, though there is still a chance that we earn a wildcard berth. Overall, however, hope for the Revolution did increase as a result of some of Saturday night’s developments.

At the professional level the outcome of games is usually a matter of execution. At halftime the Revolution may behave generated more chances but failed to convert. So, a bright start fades into a contrast between Chivas execution and the Revs missed shots. The comparison of the two defenses is another contrast. While New England’s latest set of defenders made some small errors that gave Chivas big plays, Dan Kennedy made some great saves to hold off Shalrie Joseph and the rest of the Revolution. In his post game press conference coach Steve Nicol called the Chivas goals “atrocious” for our defense to give up. He felt that we should have been up 2-0 at halftime.

Three players made their MLS debuts in this game. Milton Caraglio is the New England Revolution’s first Designated Player, a striker from Argentina. Diego Fagundez is the New England Revolution’s first homegrown player, a 16 year old attacker. Also, Laurent Courtois, came in for Chivas USA late in the game.

What does each player’s debut mean for their team? For more on Courtios – check with @soccermusings, she is a quality writer and has a much better sense of Chivas USA’s season and progress. Caraglio simply adds more quality to the Revs – better touches mean more possession or one more pass at the sharp end of our attack. His arrival will add a bit more competition for attacking minutes. Nyassi and Schilawski played wide roles in this game. Their ability to cross, along with Zak Boggs and Chris Tierney will likely be examined in practice. Lekic was out with a minor injury. I’m not sure whether or not he automatically starts alongside Caraglio when he is healthy. How those players combine with Shalrie and Benny out of the midfield and Milton up top will determine who starts.

Fagundez is still only 16. If he can be as productive per minute as he was in the debut drawing a foul for a penalty kick and scoring a goal in less than 30 minutes, then we will be lucky to see him play in Gillete stadium when he is 20 years old. In the meantime he is young, small, and has oh so much potential. I trust that we will guard that potential carefully and not spend it on this season. His contrast to Caraglio is striking. While the Argentine is unlikely to be knocked off the ball and can battle for aerial possession, our Uruguyan teenager provides a different sort of boost to our attack. He can come in late as a sub. He is fast and deft on the ball with those sure touches.

So, we lost the game. Opportunities to climb back into the playoff discussion come up every week. Until we start turning those opportunities into points in the standings though, this season will continue to be characterized by the frustration that crept in with injuries, red and yellow card suspensions, and bowled us over like the goals our opponents have scored first, or scored to come back turing possible wins into ties and ties into losses. This has not been a season of pretty results. Whether the entire season, the first half, or only shorter stretches could be called nightmares, none of it has been dreamy. We have won only two shut-outs, both nerve-wracking 1-0 wins over other teams already out of or fighting for wild-card spots. Our glories this season have been small indeed.

Against the backdrop of a frustrating campaign this loss was almost as hopeful as Benny Feilhaber’s debut (which was also Lekic’s home debut) earlier in the season: a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City. Our shiny new DP may have a knee surgery in his past but he played around 60 minutes of competitive soccer. Those were his first minutes in close to a year. Milton Caraglio may simply be another threat on set pieces, which would tell more about the quality of the crosses our wingers send towards goals. Diego Fagundez is ready to take the ball right at our opposition’s defense. Even if Deigo only sees limited minutes for the rest of the season, he is ours for the foreseeable future, and I look forward to watching him create more Revolution goals.

AJ Soares will return from suspension for the game at Columbus next week. Practice this week will focus on tightening up the defense and finding ways to get Caraglio his first goal. Taking points from Eastern Conference leaders, the Crew, would be a nice way for the Revs to continue their positive developments.

(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)