On March 23, the New England Revolution (1-1-1) played Sporting KC (1-1-2) to a scoreless draw in front of 12,215. While the attack won’t inspire any confidence from fans, the defense should be lauded for earning their second shutout this season despite the blustery conditions.
The Revolution’s offense looked toothless against Sporting KC and finished the night with no shots on target. Juan Toja provided the Revs’ best opportunity in the 77th minute when his free kick floated over the bar.
It should be noted that Chad Barrett received his first start as a Revolution player and Ryan Guy made his first appearance of 2013. Barrett looked lively and earned a number of corner kicks and throw-ins by applying high pressure. Guy provided similar attributes when he replaced Barrett in the 64th minute. The California native had his sharpest moment in the 68th minute when he crossed the ball from the left side but no one was in the middle.
Barrett was encouraged by his performance and explained, “Going into the game, you know it’s going to be like that. You might just get one chance; you might not get (any). Pretty much my job was to create havoc up there.”
While the offense wasn’t able to provide much excitement, the defense did a great job shutting down a team that has scored in two of their three previous games. Part of the team’s success this year can be attributed to lineup consistency.
Head coach Jay Heaps has deployed the same backline for every game. This type of consistency wasn’t found last year until the fifth game of the season as the team shuffled through their options due to injuries and poor form. Finding stability early has helped the Revolution with the club only allowing one goal so far this year while allowing four in the same amount of games last year.
Sporting KC primarily utilized two strategies as a way of trying to breakdown the defense. The first method was to get the ball wide and challenge Andrew Farrell and Kevin Alston. The speedy outside backs withstood the pressure as seen by Alston forcing a foul from CJ Sapong in the 14th minute and Farrell denying movement from Soony Saad in the 35th minute.
On the rare occasion that the outside backs were beat, AJ Soares and Jose Goncalves were there to provide cover. In the 31st minute, Seth Sinovic used a long throw in to trick Farrell but Soares was there to prevent Claudio Bieler from doing any damage.
The second strategy used by Sporting was to put the ball between Soares and Goncalves in the hope that the pairing would let it slip through. The center backs were solid in their communication and showed that they understood the positioning of one another. In the 66th minute, Oriol Rossell pumped a long ball forward that Soares calmly hit away. Seconds later, a repeat attempt was performed with Soares missing the header but Goncalves offering cover.
The windy conditions permitted both teams to use the long ball as a dangerous weapon. In his press conference after the game, Heaps called the weather “definitely difficult to play in” but praised the team’s defensive work. The second year coach said, “I think the back four played well but not just our back four, our entire midfield defended well.”
Clyde Simms was a standout from the midfield with the captain making a crucial save off the line in the 19th minute.
The tie against Sporting KC gives the Revolution four points in three games which is good for seventh in the Eastern Conference. The team will return to action on Saturday, March 30th when they play FC Dallas at home.
Three Revelations and Observations
1. Guy to go forward. The third year man has played every position for the Revs except left back and goalkeeper. At the end of last year, Heaps commented that it may be time that Guy finds a set position so he can develop fully. Guy appears to be committed to developing as a striker with the player saying, “For the moment that’s absolutely what I’m focused on doing; getting up there, making myself useful and scoring some goals.” Guy has been playing as a forward in practice and made four appearances last year at that position.
2. The Revs need perfect weather. The Revolution play a style that requires fast movement and quick passing which is difficult to do when weather conditions are less than ideal. The back heels and give-and-gos weren’t effective in the rain last week or the wind this week. Midfielder Scott Caldwell explained, “You can try (playing the ball) on the ground…but the way the winds were swirling even the ball on the ground was moving. So that was kind of the dangerous ball, we had to stay away from it sometimes.” Barrett echoed those sentiments when he said, “Hopefully when the weather gets nicer and the wind settles down a little more, we can play a little bit better soccer.”
3. Is this the end of “We’re Going to Attack”? Since becoming head coach, Heaps has made a consistent effort to play attack-minded soccer. The former Revs player rarely makes a defensive substitution and often carries a bench full of exciting players that want to score. On Saturday, Heaps opted only to make one sub while leaving Diego Fagundez and Andy Dorman on the bench. The coach addressed this matter after the game by saying that both players were considered but ultimately passed over because the game was too physical. Heaps said he really struggled with Fagundez but decided to keep Kelyn Rowe on the field since a switch would mean the team was “going to lose a little bit defensively.” The decision was unlike Heaps but may have led to the team collecting a point instead of nothing at all. If this type of thinking becomes a regular practice, perhaps this year’s motto should be “We are Going to Make Playoffs.”
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
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