Revolution players wasted no time sharing their disappointment on Twitter after this game. Ryan Cochrane (@RyanTCochrane) called it “…a tough one to swallow.” Darius Barnes (@D_Barnes25) said it was “So disappointing…” echoing Shalrie Joseph (@ShalrieJoseph21), while Kevin Alston (@KAlston30) simply posted “Well that sucks.” It looked fairly even, until it wasn’t. San Jose capitalized on their opportunities to end the game with more goals than New England.
San Jose’s Ellis McLoughlin headed in a cross from Chris Wondolowski for their first goal. The story on that goal, and the Revs defense might tell you the story most of the game was all about keeping Steven Lenhart off the ball. Kevin Alston closed in on Lenhart leaving McLoughlin open. Their second goal may have started as a cross from Bobby Convey searching for Lenhart, but it curled over and around the play to find the far upper corner – it looked beautiful and felt painful. Lenhart’s physical play occupied the Revs all night. The defense was also glued to Wondolowski all night, but he proved less disruptive than Lenhart.
The Revs pulled back the goal differential on a free kick of their own. Chris Tierney and Benny Feilhaber stood over the ball late and watched Jon Busch set up his wall. Tierney’s left-footed shot bounced once on it’s way into the net past the wall and goalkeeper to the far corner. Set pieces are the Revolution’s best bet for goals lately. There were opportunities during play, especially on the small Buck-Shaw pitch. Build up play has to do more than simply holding the ball, it has to lead to shots on goal. Shalrie had a nice shot from distance saved. He and Benny also combined well and even linked to Rajko Lekic at times. Goals will come from those kinds of play, none last night, but goals will come.
In amongst the disappointment there were some positives to take from this loss. This Revolution team continues to develop the positioning, communication, and passing that will unlock their opponent’s defenses. The team that alternated between long balls and running speedily down the wings only to peter out last year is now a possession passing team. New England flew across the continent and edged out San Jose in time of possession on a narrow field. That bodes well for future games. I still think that this team is headed in the right direction. They will brew up improved chemistry and the results will come.
Right on cue, enter last place Sporting Kansas City for a mid-week US Open Cup play-in game. The Revs had success against them in Gillette last month. I expect the team to move quickly past this San Jose loss. Some starters will rest instead of traveling to Kansas City which will give our younger players a chance to test themselves against Sporting. Just as quickly as we turn away from San Jose to the struggling SKC, we will immediately pivot back to New England after leaving the Midwest to face a heavy weight contender. Three games in seven days in three different time zones is a part of playing in MLS. Los Angeles will arrive to play the Revolution on Saturday night for their third game in seven days and three time zones, too. I’ll have a preview highlighting the similarities and differences between the Revs’ and Galaxy’s trips later in the week.
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
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