The New England Revolution stumbled into the second-half of the season with back-to-back losses to the Houston Dynamo and the Colorado Rapids. Adam Moffat secured victory for the Dynamo with two impressive blasts that sandwiched a Saer Sene goal. Four days later, the Revs once again suffered a 2-1 defeat when a Nick LaBrocca strike and a Jose Goncalves own-goal negated Juan Toja’s set piece beauty. The recent results are concerning since the Revolution went through a 10-game winless period last summer.
The Dynamo ventured to Gillette Stadium with a game plan that revolved around using physical play to control possession. Houston finished the game with 15 whistled infractions compared to the Revolution’s ten. This number doesn’t include Moffat’s hit on Chris Tierney that drew blood or Bobby Boswell’s handling offense in the box, both of which went unpunished by the referee. The Dynamo’s strategy worked well since the team held 54.8% of the possession while only allowing the Revs to complete 77.7% of their passes. Furthermore, the physicality convinced Dimitry Imbongo to take a swipe at Eric Brunner which earned the Congo native a red card in the 82nd minute.
“I think that it was by design that is was a very physical match, guys were going to be on the ground and we have to learn to be a little bit stronger, little better,” head coach Jay Heaps remarked. “We sit in technical meetings all the time and we just want to play, we just want to play. Unfortunately it’s hard sometimes.”
Houston supplemented their physical play by taking long-range shots as a way of avoiding one of the league’s stingiest defenses. Seven of the Dynamo’s thirteen shots came from outside of penalty box, including Moffat’s two goals. The game plan was likely devised after seeing Chivas USA’s success when shooting from outside the area and San Jose’s issues when brawling with Goncalves and Stephen McCarthy. The loss was disappointing since the Revs had the opportunity to take hold of a playoff position.
“This was a huge game for us,” Shuttleworth noted. “We were trying to jump (Houston) in the table. This one stings for sure, we have to get on to the next one.”
The Revs had little time to think about their first home loss since May 8th since they had to travel to Colorado for a midweek fixture. The Revolution struggled against the Rapids but did manage to get on the scoreboard first when Toja’s free kick found the back of the net in the 15th minute.
Ryan Guy explained, “Juan [Toja] certainly put a good ball in. That was fantastic. From there, it was just a very difficult game for us. Things really never clicked and I think it will show from things like passing percentages and stats like that, that we just didn't get ahold of the game tonight.”
The Rapids dominated the game and finished with 62.7% of possession while holding the Revs to pass completion of 66.2%. With high pressure being applied by the Rapids, it seemed that the home team would eventually find the back of the net. Colorado’s pursuit for a goal was aided by a McCarthy head injury that forced AJ Soares to enter the game in the 58th minute.
“It's what we prepare for,” Heaps commented about making a substitute. “We have players that want opportunities and they got it. They have to make sure that they deliver.”
Nick LaBrocca played hero for the Rapids when he collected a Dillon Powers’ ball and sent a long-range effort past Shuttleworth. Goncalves gave Colorado the go-ahead goal when he accidently redirected Powers’ cross into the back of the net. With the loss the Revs’ are now 6-7-6 with no wins in the second-half of the season. The Revolution will hope to prevent a summer slump when they travel to Columbus on Saturday.
Heaps noted, “We as a staff have to be better and the players have to be better. We all have to be better.”
3 Observations and Revelations
1.The Revs need to do a better job holding the ball. With technical players like Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe and Toja, it might come as a surprise that the Revolution has only controlled possession in six games this season. The Revs need to do a battle job of dictating the tempo and preventing their opponent from gaining momentum. The squad is 6-3-1 when scoring first this season but a closer inspection of this stat reveals that the Revs have always tied or lost when allowing their opponent to score. Slowing the game down and holding the ball would help prevent points from slipping away.
2.Players are starting to cool. Remember when Diego Fagundez scored in four straight games? How about when Rowe was “en fuego” with goals and assists coming in both Open Cup and league play? Nguyen’s two-assist performance against San Jose seems like a distant memory. It appears that opponents have done a better job of scouting the Revs and neutralizing their best players. Something similar happened last year when Sene scored seven goals in his first 12 games before being limited to four goals during the rest of the season. The Revs need to hope Fagundez, Rowe and Nguyen find good form and consistency if they want to get back into playoff contention.
3. These results put pressure on the Front Office to make a mid-summer signing. After a disappointing start to the season, it looked like the Revs had put things together with the acquisition of Juan Agudelo. With the 20 year-old out for an indefinite amount of time and depth players struggling to make an impact, the Front Office should be looking to make a move this summer. A striker is top priority with Jerry Bengtson, Barrett and Imbongo having problems in front of the net. A strong, experienced defensive midfielder could be a good move as well since the team needs to do a better job of holding the ball. If a new defensive midfielder were to join the team, Scott Caldwell could play further up the field where his passing and vision would be an asset.
(image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
