Revolution v. Chicago Fire, 6.18.11

Rajko Lekic finally had a killer game. We’ve seen that he’s a fiery player, ready to jaw and mix it up with virtually anyone who comes within his field of vision. He’s at his best, though, not when he’s waving his arms and screaming, but when he’s playing in a composed manner. And he was the picture of composure against Chicago.

Lekic’s most impressive play of this game came just before the final whistle. With the game tied 1-1 and deep into additional time, he stood in a crowd at the top of Chicago’s penalty box and managed to settle a long throw-in from Darrius Barnes. After the trap, Lekic juggled the ball three times, all while splitting two defenders and getting into position to fire a left-footed volley from more than twenty yards out. The shot just missed, wide right. It was a calmly and crisply delivered strike that wasted no motion. If it had gone in, the goal would have been a sublime ending for the Revolution, who badly needed a win.

Lekic cracked a similarly impressive volley in the 21^st minute off a chest trap, and seven minutes after that he one-timed a dangerous shot off a headed pass from Kevin Alston. After those impressive but fruitless attempts, it looked to be another night of frustration for Lekic, but he broke through early in the second half. Standing at the six in the 47^th minute, he calmly collected a low bouncing shot from Pat Phelan. Lekic appeared to be offside, but for once the flag stayed down for him. (Replays showed the no-call was a good one.) He turned and side-footed an accurate far-post shot past the keeper. Whatever one feels about his occasional theatrics, it would be hard even for Chicago defenders to deny that Lekic deserved a goal in this one.

Lekic probably would have had another goal against Chicago were it not for the stellar play of Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who is only 22 and looks like he’s never had to run a razor over his baby face. He sure plays like a commanding veteran, though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he moves on to bigger and better leagues before long. I’d be remiss not to add that Matt Reis had yet another excellent game in goal for the Revolution. He probably won’t get much credit for his play this year because of his team’s lousy record, but he does more than his share to keep New England in games. He also seems notably less inclined than most keepers to fly into flailing temper tantrums when his defenders have the temerity to allow opposing players to get off shots. In my book, that’s reason enough to pull for the guy.

In addition to Johnson, keep an eye out for Chicago’s Dominic Oduro, a 25-year-old striker from Ghana who is strong, fast, and big. He scored Chicago’s only goal, sprinting on to a well-weighted and perfectly timed long pass from fellow Ghanaian teammate Patrick Nyarko. Oduro got the ball in space and ran at a helpless Barnes, who could only retreat from Oduro sideways and hope to break up the play at the last second. He couldn’t, and Oduro side-footed a long, low shot past Reis just inside the far post. The Revolution don’t have anyone that strong and impressive, someone who can run at defenders and finish. Come to think of it, our national squad could use a few of those types as well.

And while we’re on the subject, what’s the deal with Ghana? They’re a nation of only 24 million according to Wikipedia, and they’ve eliminated the U.S. from the last two World Cups. And they should have beaten Uruguay to advance to the WC semis in 2010. I might have been really upset about that result had I not been in Vegas before the tourney and laid a $10 bet on Uruguay to win it all. They were a 150-1 shot that nearly paid off for me. There I was, ticket in hand, all set to take my family to Uruguay on vacation with my winnings if they lifted that golden, venous trophy. I had the odds makers sweating for once, but the long-shot ticket’s now in a landfill somewhere with almost all the rest of them. 

The Revolution have a new player in town named Ryan Guy. He came on for Chris Tierney in the 71^st minute and showed some good speed and footwork. He also saved the Revolution a point in the standings by clearing a hard Oduro header while covering the near post on a corner kick.