An unfortunate moment during the final moments of the first half changed the complexion of the game as the New England Revolution were defeated 2-0 by DC United on Saturday night.
One week after being the beneficiaries of an own goal, the Revs were the victims of one as Jose Goncalves hit Cristian’s cross past goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. The 2013 Defender of the Year didn’t look settled in his positioning, which prompted him to take an awkward touch instead of allowing the ball to roll past him. The goal, which came in the 43rd minute, put the Revs in a bad position heading into halftime.
“Own goals happen,” head coach Jay Heaps explained. “I think it was a really unfortunate bounce and those things happen in a game. Up to that point, I thought [Goncalves] was amazing and one of our best players on the field.”
While Heaps applauded his captain’s ability to rebound from the mistake, he admitted that the deficit affected the way the team played. In the second half, the Revs were over reliant on long ball tactics as they looked to find an equalizing goal.
“We started to try to open up the game, but they were hopeful balls,” Heaps remarked. “[They were] not balls into channels, balls into space where we can get up and defend on. We were being very central with our long balls and that’s something we don’t want to do.”
The Revs struggled to create opportunities in both halves as only one of their 10 shots were on frame. The team’s first chance came in the 22nd minute when Diego Fagundez had a low shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. The ball fell to Saer Sene, but the lanky Frenchman hit the side netting.
In the 50th minute, Sene forced a hospital pass from Fernandez that was intercepted by Teal Bunbury. The former Sporting KC man created space with a sharp cut but was unable to put the ball on frame. Six minutes later, he made a similar snafu when his close range shot sailed over the net.
Luckily for the Revs, DC weren’t much better on the night as the home team often misfired. The club didn’t have a decent chance of their own until the 80th minute when Fabian Espindola put Eddie Johnson in on goal. Shuttleworth was there to deny the US international and keep the game close.
Although there weren’t many goals, there was certainly physical play. Lewis Neal made several crunching tackles, including one during the game’s opening minutes. The English-born midfielder made a studs up challenge on Andrew Farrell that left the sophomore laboring for a few minutes. Neal got a yellow card for the tackle.
“I haven’t seen the foul,” Heaps stated. “I saw Farrell’s leg. I got to go look at it on tape. Something like that, if it’s later in the game it’s probably a different color when the card comes out.”
In the 88th minute, Charlie Davies appeared to have been chopped down by a DC United defender. The referee didn’t see it that way, however, and gave Davies a yellow card for diving. Soon after, Heaps was ejected from the game.
DC would seal their first win of 2014 during stoppage time when Espindola’s precise long ball found Chris Rolfe in the box. Rolfe, who was making his debut as a United player, finished the chance to close out the game.
The Revs will now prepare for their April 12th home fixture against the Houston Dynamo.
(Image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
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