Revolution v. Colorado Rapids, 5.7.11

Didier Domi didn’t play today due to injury, but when the game started I thought for a moment he’d snuck onto the field. It turns out that the Revolution have signed another 30-something French player of African descent with good foot skills, a shaved head, and a four-letter last name beginning with the letter D. What are the odds? The Revs’ newest player is Ousmane Dabo, a holding midfielder whose lengthy resume includes time in Italy’s Serie A and England’s Premier League. He looked solid today, controlling the ball and playing just in front of central defenders A.J. Soares and Ryan Cochrane, the latter in for an injured Franco Coria.

With the mid-season signings of Domi, Dabo, Benny Feilhaber, and Rajko Lekic, the Revolution is a team in transition. And given those signings, it appears the Revs are looking to add skill rather than speed and/or youth. This could lead to some good possession soccer after the players get to know each other, but it could also lead to a bunch of aging athletes sitting in hot tubs on game days. Last year’s team MVP Marko Perovic, another skilled player, is already injured, as is Domi. Revs fans must be eager to see Perovic, Shalrie Joseph, and all of the newcomers in action at the same time, but who knows if that will ever happen.

The Revs were decent today, which is to say infinitely better than they were against Chivas, though they couldn’t produce a goal. Fortunately, neither could Colorado, so New England managed to salvage at least a point at home. One player who was visibly displeased with this result, and with much else besides during the match, was Lekic. In the 9^th minute he got mugged and called for the foul. This set a tone of frustration for him (not that it appears he needs much provocation to be overcome by that emotion). He did have a good game, including an impressive play where he juggled the ball with a Colorado defender on his back. And he made some dangerous runs that unfortunately amounted to nothing. One of those runs came in stoppage time just before the end of the game, during one of the Revs’ best chances of the night. Sainey Nyassi received a good one-touch pass from Joseph through defenders near the top of the box. Nyassi streaked towards the right post while Lekic ran toward the left. For a brief moment Lekic was open. Nyassi hesitated and his cross was intercepted.

Lekic reacted as if Nyassi had just keyed his brand new Ferrari. He angrily and forcefully struck the left goal post with his foot. One thing’s for sure: the Dane’s schoolyard English is in working order. The camera caught him savagely jawing at Nyassi for the tardiness of his pass. When the final whistle blew a few minutes later, Lekic left the field shaking his head. He then voiced his concerns to Nichol on the sideline. I loved Lekic’s effort today, but I doubt if his ranting and complaining to the coach will ingratiate him with his new teammates.

Veteran strikers Omar Cummings and Conor Casey didn’t play for the Rapids, which was a disappointment. However, we got to see Andre Akpan instead. Akpan is a 23-year-old Harvard grad, an econ major who scored 47 goals for the Crimson and was named 2009 Ivy League player of the year. He came on as a Colorado substitute around the 30^th minute today and looked mighty impressive. He took a searing shot from about thirty yards out soon after coming in, made an impressive cut-back move on Kevin Alston a little later, and also quickly released a just-off-target shot after stealing a ball off a Revolution player’s chest trap. He’s dangerous and I’m intrigued.