The New England Revolution scoring woes continued on April 13th as their match against the Seattle Sounders ended in a scoreless draw. The Revs mustered five shots during the game with none being on target. While the attack has now gone 388 minutes without finding the back of the net, the defense has maintained good form by collecting three shutouts this year. New England’s ability to keep the Sounders off the score sheet can be attributed to the solid play of goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth and center back Jose Goncalves.
Shuttleworth earned his second straight start of the season (third of the year) after renewing his contract earlier in the week. While the resigning of Shuttleworth was met with mixed reactions from fans, the fifth year goalkeeper was able to hush critics for a night as he showed that he’s capable of making game-changing saves while also having the courage to come off his line.
Shuttleworth was first called into action in the 15th minute when he made a fingertip save on a long range effort by Osvaldo Alonso. The moment confused many as fans thought the ball had entered the net while the referee didn’t realize that Shuttleworth touched the ball. Although the New York native didn’t get credit for the Alonso save, he would get noticed for his actions in the 43rd minute. After beating AJ Soares, speedster Steve Zakuani came barreling towards the Revolution net but was prevented from scoring due to a big save by Shuttleworth.
Shuttleworth’s stop on Zakuani was largely important because the goalkeeper has been shaky when coming off his line this year. If Shuttleworth is truly the heir to Matt Reis, he must display confidence and courage on a weekly basis. Shuttleworth certainly did that on Saturday night. The netminder’s biggest save came in the 38th minute when he assertively ventured out of his box to heroically stop Lamar Neagle from intercepting a Clyde Simms back pass.
While Shuttleworth deserves praise for his positive night, it’s important to recognize that he was aided by the backline led by Goncalves. Over the course of 90 minutes, Goncalves did everything you would want from a veteran defender. In the 14th minute, the Portuguese player made a big tackle on Zakuani after the Seattle attack forced a turnover from AJ Soares. Goncalves showed great anticipation in the 37th minute when he beat Alex Caskey to a Zakuani pass that eluded all other defenders. The 27 year-old also showed a great ability to win 50-50 balls throughout the night.
Even when Goncalves did make a mistake, he was able to recover from it easily. In the 56th minute, Goncalves was beat by Neagle but the Revs defender used his speed to minimize the error before any real damage was done.
While it might be narrow-minded to highlight two players when soccer is played with 11, Shuttleworth and Goncalves deserve special recognition due to their superb outings. These two players had a lot of uncertainty surrounding them before the season began but have done a lot to show why they come so highly touted by the coaching staff.
Shuttleworth, Goncalves and the rest of the Revolution will hope to build on Saturday’s result when they travel to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, April 20th.
3 Observations and Revelations
1. Kalifa Cisse needs to be more accurate with his passing. The return of Cisse was lauded as a return to possession-based soccer because the former Bristol City player was an integral part in holding the ball during the victory against Chicago. The defense certainly seemed more comfortable with Cisse and Simms in front of them as the often attempted to play the ball through the midfield instead of lofting it forward every time. That having been said, the Revs finished with a measly 31% of the possession. Part of the reason that this number was so low was because Cisse was often making risky passes. In the 34th, 37th and 63rd minute, Cisse made a pass to a player (Rowe the first two times and Nguyen the last) who almost immediately lost it because there was a Sounder there applying pressure. If Cisse is going serve as the link between the defense and the attack, he has to make smarter passes in his half of the field.
2. The Sounders were teaching the Revs how to play. Although they were also kept off the scoreboard, I couldn’t help but think that the Sounders were effective at using the Revs’ own game plan. DeAndre Yedlin was outstanding as an outside back and brought width to the team by darting forward and offering crosses (like Chris Tierney and Andrew Farrell were supposed to do). Alonso and Shalrie Joseph were providing a calm presence in the center of the park by making tackles and keeping the ball moving with both short and long passes (like Simms and Cisse were supposed to do). Finally, Neagle and Zakuani were getting behind the defense and having chances on goal (like Juan Toja and Jerry Bengtson were supposed to do). Perhaps it was the personnel or simply playing at home, but it was clear that Seattle was beating the Revs at their own game.
3. There is hope for the Revolution. Being at the bottom of the table with one goal is certainly depressing for fans. However, Saturday’s game did provide some hope. Tierney had a fine night as left back by making the important tackles and offering width. If Tierney is able to shake off the rust and be more accurate with his crosses then Bengtson might start scoring goals. The other major positive came in the 74th minute when Saer Sene returned from his ACL injury. The French striker showed his offensive flair when he collected the ball in the 87th minute and made a streaking run forward with the help of Nguyen. The Revolution currently lacks a player that can take control of the game and create chances out of nothing. With Sene’s full return getting closer, fans should be hopeful that the attack will come alive.
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
