Revolution at Colorado Rapids, 7.23.11

At around the 85^th minute of this game, I reflected that sometimes a loss is greater cause for optimism than a tie or even a win. The Revolution were down 2-1 at that point and almost certainly destined for yet another road defeat. But for most of the second half they’d played with only ten men, and they’d played Colorado tough. New England’s effort was particularly impressive considering the Colorado altitude and game-time temperatures in the 90s. The only goals they’d allowed came off a penalty kick and a complete fluke of a 60-yard shot that Matt Reis misjudged and let skip over his head and into the net.

In short, I knew the Revolution wouldn’t get a result in this one, but they easily could have gotten a draw or even a win with their effort. It would be the kind of hard-fought loss that often deeply pisses off the losing side, bringing them closer together as a team and propelling them to a convincing win in their next game. (By contrast, the Revolution’s lifeless 3-3 draw over Real Salt Lake on July 4 was a mirage that didn’t adequately reflect New England’s lame and uninspired play. The tie in Salt Lake was the kind of result that usually precedes a thorough drubbing.)

Anyway, those were my thoughts near end of the Colorado game. Only, I didn’t have to wait until next Saturday’s match against Kansas City for the Revolution to justify my good opinion of their efforts against the Rapids. In the 89^th minute, Kevin Alston capped a good night with a long ball in to Darrius Barnes, who’d made a run into the offensive third. Barnes headed the ball to a nearby Kenny Mansally, who had gotten behind the defender and drew a foul in the Rapids’ penalty box. Shalrie Joseph then converted the penalty kick for his sixth goal of the year.

After the PK tied the game at two goals apiece, Joseph’s teammates Benny Feilhaber and A.J. Soares converged on him for a three-way man-hug. All three had played well, in particular Feilhaber, who’d scored the game’s first goal off a long throw-in and who’d hustled on the defensive end all night. Maybe New England’s previous road victory against the D.C. United—which Feilhaber had to watch from the sidelines due to his red card against the Union—had inspired him.

But to paraphrase Mel Torme, the Revolution’s performance wasn’t all velvet. To start with, they continued their troubling trend of allowing opponents to dominate time of possession. In this game, New England managed to hold the ball a pathetic 31.5% of the time. Also, Zack Schilawski had a forgettable game on the wing and Rajko Lekic was similarly ineffective at striker. Despite his lame numbers this year, I do believe Lekic is dangerous. But he needs to play on a team that repeatedly sends in crosses from the wings, and the Revolution aren’t capable of doing that now, don’t ask me why. (Mansally came on for Lekic in the 75^th minute and looked more impressive playing with his back to the goal. Within five minutes of checking in, for example, he’d already drawn two fouls. True, Mansally wasn’t able to settle a long ball from Alston in the 85^th minute, but he promptly redeemed that gaffe by drawing the penalty kick.) Finally, the Revolution simply must find a way to generate more chances in the run of play. Amazingly, and yet again, their goals in this game came off set pieces.

To return to the bright side: The Revolution’s paltry time-of-possession number is mitigated somewhat by their being forced to play a man down after Chris Tierney was sent off in the 64^th minute. More importantly, much of Colorado’s possession wasn’t really dangerous possession—a point made by Colorado defender Drew Moor during an on-field halftime interview. The Revolution seem to be regaining some control on both sides of the ball, and forgoing bitching and moaning at each other in favor of playing hard and communicating.

I hope I’m right about all that, and further hope that pulling level with the Rapids in the final minutes of this game didn’t take any edge off the Revolution players’ desire to take it to Sporting KC next week. With four road points in two games, the Revolution’s season may just be on the cusp of redemption.