On paper, New England Revolution’s home affair against cellar-dwelling DC United looked like a certain victory. After all, the Revs were on a four-game undefeated streak while outscoring their opponent 10-1. Meanwhile, DC had only collected six goals this season and hadn’t won since March 9th. Although it looked like a sure three points on paper, Saturday’s scoreless draw highlighted that soccer isn’t played on paper.
From the beginning, it was clear that DC United was committed to applying high pressure as a way of disrupting the Revolution’s free-flowing offense. The approach had a clear impact on the first-half since the Revs only held 46% of the possession while losing 55% of the duels.
“I was expecting them to push us,” head coach Jay Heaps said. “I thought they did a better job of pressing us on the second ball. When they would lose it, we would make a good two or three passes and they would get to that one. We have to do better at breaking pressure.”
The heavy pressure forced the Revs to get creative with their attack. In the 18th minute, the Revolution tried to use quick passing as a way of breaking down the defense when Chris Tierney used a single touch to find Diego Fagundez who immediately back heeled it to Lee Nguyen. Juan Agudelo used his strength to create an opportunity in the 31st minute when he muscled his way through four defenders before laying the ball off to Juan Toja. In the ultimate sign that the Revs were trying anything to break the deadlock, Tierney took a right-footed shot in the 67th minute. In total, the Revs took 12 shots (four on goal) without finding the back of the net.
“I don’t think we made enough runs off the ball,” Heaps explained. “I thought in the first half; we didn’t run enough off the ball. From where I’m sitting I didn’t see enough off the ball. If Lee has the ball he only has one option, I want him to have two or three options where if it’s Toja running off and Agudelo this way, Saer.”
On the defensive end, the Revs remained solid and extended their shutout streak to 395 minutes, which set a new club record. Bobby Shuttleworth helped organize the backline while keeping the game scoreless by neutralizing crosses and staying poised. Shuttleworth’s only save came in the 28th minute when Chris Pontius beat Jose Goncalves and sent in a low shot.
“Every time we step on the field we want to get the shutout, we want to keep the zero,” Shuttleworth commented. “The guys have been really, really good. The back line has been super organized like I said. The shape has been good throughout the entire season.”
While the team will be satisfied with another good defensive performance, they will certainly be disappointed in their failure to collect three points at home. The team’s ineptness in front of goal will also be a cause for concern since it seemed that the attack was finally starting to click.
“We let (the defense) down today,” Agudelo commented. “Today the defense was better than us. We need to be better and I feel like we need to apologize to our defense for working so hard.”
Three Observations and Revelations
1. Agudelo could be the team’s enforcer. Since joining the team, Agudelo has established himself as a physical presence that isn’t shy about making a tackle. Excluding hand balls, Agudelo has averaged 2.5 whistled infractions over the last four games, which is second only to Toja’s 3.5. Toja’s fouls are often erratic and largely due to the Colombian’s inability to properly time his challenge. In contrast, Agudelo’s fouls are typically committed with a noble purpose in mind. In the 19th minute of Saturday’s game, Agudelo was blamed for a foul on Ethan White when the 20 year-old applied pressure as a way of trying to win a 50-50 ball. Four minutes later, Agudelo once again caught the attention of the referee when he made a late tackle on Nick DeLeon. The second foul was clearly done with vengeance in mind considering DeLeon had recently fouled Fagundez. It should be noted that Agudelo hasn’t received a yellow card this season but Toja has gotten three.
2. Kelyn Rowe needs to start and be in the middle. On Saturday, Heaps replicated a previous lineup for the first time this season when he decided to use the same personnel that produced a 5-0 win over the LA Galaxy. While consistency makes sense during a good run, it was a puzzling decision to leave Rowe on the bench. Rowe brings a lot of energy to the Revs and is currently tied with Graham Zusi on top of the MLS assist chart. When Rowe finally entered the game in the 54th minute, he was deployed as a right midfielder, which limits some of his talents. Rowe has shown that he works best in the middle of the field where he can roam freely and orchestrate the attack. The sophomore player made the best of the situation, however, and almost had the game-winning when he took a close-range shot in the 90th minute.
3. The Revs could be MLS’s Harlem Globetrotters. Back heels and fancy flicks have become a staple of the Revs repertoire this season. There have been periods where this tactic has been frustrating to watch as it has led to missed connections and easy turnovers. As chemistry and confidence grows, however, it appears that lavish footwork will produce results. Nguyen, Toja, Agudelo and Fagundez have regularly been spotted using the technique in order to create opportunities. Lineup consistency and perfect weather conditions are going to be essential if this entertaining style of play is going to continue.
(image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
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