The New England Revolution’s five-game unbeaten streak came in to an end on Saturday when they suffered a 4-3 defeat to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The high scoring affair highlighted the negatives and positives of having a young squad.
In a move that has become customary for the Revs, the starting lineup featured a wealth of young players with the average age being 23 years-old. The youthful Revolution controlled the first twenty minutes of the game with their creative movement and intense pressure. Juan Agudelo opened up the scoring in the 10th minute after he collected a long-range feed from Chris Tierney. Kelyn Rowe doubled the lead in the 20th minute when he finished an opportunity created by Saer Sene and Diego Fagundez. The skill and energy brought by the young players created a fluid and dangerous attack.
“We were moving the ball, we scored two goals. I thought our movement was really good,” head coach Jay Heaps said of the opening 20 minutes. “I thought our preparation was really good. We had a game plan and that was our game plan: to play in the half and jump on them and we did.”
The Revs’ naivety shined through in the 23rd minute when Andrew Farrell was whistled for a foul on Kenny Miller. In real time, it looked like referee Juan Guzman was correct to issue a red card to the Revs and reward a penalty to the Whitecaps. The replay, however, showed that Miller might have tripped himself after receiving minimal contact from Farrell.
“It was a good ball they played in behind, deep in behind,” Farrell explained. “I got caught off-guard because I didn’t see Kenny Miller coming in from behind, from my left side. It was kind of a quick play. I had my hand, I think, on his back and I don’t think it’s a foul, but obviously it’s in the run of play, so you can’t really see it.”
Regardless of whether or not the call was legitimate, Farrell needed to do a better job of understanding the situation. As a veteran forward, Miller was going to go down with any type of contact as a way of changing the flow of the game. Furthermore, Farrell should have known that he was last defender and that he could earn a red card with any type of contact.
“I was talking to some of the veteran members of the team and they said maybe not foul him there and just let him have that shot,” Farrell said. “We get a goal scored on us, but maybe we’re still in the game, we’re still 11 on 11.”
The incident in the 23rd minute greatly impacted the game since it allowed Camilo Sanvezzo to cut the lead in half while putting the Revs down a player. Instead of slowing things down and holding possession, the Revolution lacked composure and organization which allowed Vancouver to gain the lead. Miller’s brace and Jordan Harvey’s single helped the Whitecaps overturn the deficit. Dimitry Imbongo’s late strike showcased the Revs’ fight but it wasn’t enough as the game ended 4-3.
Bobby Shuttleworth looked back by saying, “Any time someone gets a red card people have to move around and Darrius came into the game and pieces are going to be moving. It’s up to us to slow the game down there and try to get into halftime without conceding and we weren’t able to do that.”
The Revolution’s youth has brought many exciting moments this season but tonight their inexperience was on display.
3 Observations and Revelations
1. Shuttleworth is a starter but not an all-star (yet). Heading into Saturday’s game Shuttleworth led MLS in save percentage (80%), goals against average (.75—tied with Colorado’s Clint Irwin) and shutouts (7—tied with Jimmy Nielson). Although these numbers are impressive, it should be noted that Shuttleworth isn’t flashy in his approach and largely relies on good positioning to make stops. The New York native needs to show that he can regularly make game-changing saves if he wants to be considered an all-star. On the same night that Donovan Ricketts and Raul Fernandez provided breathtaking moments, Shuttleworth only made two routine saves.
2. The Revs need to be able to adapt mid-game. The penalty and red card clearly shocked the Revs but they still had a 2-1 lead. With more focus and grit, the team could have weathered the storm and regained momentum. As the veterans on the team, Jose Goncalves and Lee Nguyen should have been more active in increasing organization and holding possession. Scott Caldwell also has an important role in this process since he’s the team’s defensive midfielder. If this is a struggle for the rookie then Heaps should give Kalifa Cisse or Clyde Simms (when healthy) the starting position. Allowing the game to slip away, even if they were down a man, is unacceptable.
3. It’s about the rebound. It’s never good to lose but the Revs five-game unbeaten streak is promising, especially since it’s the best run in recent memory. The Revolution now has a bye-week to get players healthy and make adjustments before heading out to California to play Chivas USA. An away win would help the Revs get back on track before they return to Foxboro for a two-game home stand. The Revs need to learn from, but forget, this disappointing night because there are still a lot of points up for grabs.
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
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