Revolution at New York Red Bulls, 4.28.12

Thierry Henry scored the lone goal in this game, in the seventh minute, on a breakaway. He ran hard down the left side of the field, outmuscling physical New England center back Stephen McCarthy. Henry created just enough space to get the outside of his right foot on the ball, sending it over a helpless-looking Matt Reis, who was caught off his line.

The goal was typical of Henry’s MLS goals so far this year, a product of strength, skill and guile that few players in the world, let alone MLS, possess. It was also, of course, a valuable goal, particularly so since Henry would fall to the ground untouched less than fifteen minutes later with a strained hamstring and have to leave the game. (He’s apparently out for three to four weeks.) Without Henry on the field, New York instantly became less dangerous and alluring; in fact New England was on the front foot for most of the last hour of the game.

The aftermath of Henry’s goal against New England was also consistent with some of his other MLS goals this year. Henry jogged to the end line, barely acknowledging the fans, took an angry-looking kick at the corner flag, then trotted up the sideline, his teammates hugging and patting him as if they were ineffectual ghosts who couldn’t penetrate his reality. Given his long history playing for Arsenal and Barcelona, it must be very tough for Henry to get excited about scoring against the likes of the New England Revolution. But the contrast between his reaction to the goal against the Revolution and his goal for Arsenal in January against Leeds in the FA Cup (when he ran over to Arsene Wenger to give him a hug) is remarkable nonetheless.

But I know: it’s a little hard on a guy to criticize him for not celebrating with enough alacrity when he’s playing so well. The goal against New England was Henry’s ninth of the young season, which leads MLS. And anyone who cares about the quality of play in this league will join me in wishing him a quick recovery. As for one of New York’s other DPs, Rafa Marquez, I think the MLS disciplinary committee should have suspended him for more than three games for tackling and kicking Shea Salinas. In any case, I don’t miss Marquez’s uninspired play one bit.

And as for the Revolution, they looked mostly punchless after their long layoff, failing to score a goal against a rookie goalkeeper with no prior clean sheets and a back line with eleven MLS starts between them. It was the Revolution’s third straight loss, and they remain stuck on six points after seven games played. Clyde Simms and Kelyn Rowe had uncharacteristically ineffectual games. And Benny Feilhaber—who came on for Rowe to begin the second half—found himself all alone in front of the goal and on the end of a perfect Shalrie Joseph cross in the 77^th minute. But he sent his header virtually the only place he could to ensure that the ball wouldn’t hit the back of the net—directly to New York keeper Ryan Meara. That miss, an exceptionally bad free kick in the 62^nd minute, and getting stripped of the ball two (or three?) times by Dax McCarty combined to make this game one that Feilhaber will want to quickly forget.

Feilhaber nearly redeemed himself in the 88^th minute, creating space for himself at the edge of the box, getting the ball onto his much-preferred right foot, and ripping a shot on goal. Meara made a good save, but New York got lucky when the rebound narrowly missed falling to the feet of A.J. Soares, who’d pressed forward from his center back position. Soares, by the way, had an excellent game for the Revolution, consistently beating Kenny Cooper in the air. And speaking of goal-scoring opportunities, Saer Sene had his best and most consistent game yet for the Revolution, hustling, tracking back and nearly scoring shortly before the half on a composed, skillful run through the defense. His shot on that sequence hit the post. He had others.

So the Revolution created some chances, and they held the ball considerably more than New York after Henry left the game, but I hope the New England players don’t kid themselves into thinking they got cosmically jobbed. This was a depleted Red Bulls team full of rookies and fill-ins, a team that should not have held a rested New England team to zero goals. In other words, the game made last year’s dismal season seem horribly fresh and this season’s early, promising victory over the Galaxy seem distant.

Revolution v. D.C. United, 4.14.12

Teams go on winning and losing streaks during long sports seasons, just as teams go on runs over the courses of individual games. Sports commentators who forget this, and who place too much emphasis on early-season wins and losses, can look mighty foolish at the end of the year. For instance, those who seriously wondered—after only half a dozen games or so—whether Arsenal might get relegated from the EPL at the end of this year should be particularly embarrassed right about now, as Arsenal are poised to finish in the top four of their league.

Back here in the relatively prosaic MLS, New England and D.C. United played a game that was something of an exception to the rule that says you shouldn’t put too much stock in early-season games. That is, it’s probably okay to place significance on this particular matchup. God knows the game wasn’t particularly important in the wider scheme of things—even in the scheme of MLS—as neither squad is especially good or exciting. But for the clubs themselves, each coming off a non-playoff year and hoping to make the post-season in a relatively weak eastern conference, these three points could really mean something at the end of the year.

D.C. ultimately got those points, beating New England 2-1 in a mostly evenly matched affair. New England coach Jay Heaps can’t be too pleased with his team’s effort, especially given the fact that his players were on nine days’ rest and playing at home. The Revolution went up in the 6^th minute off a nice curling cross into the box by Saer Sene that found the foot of new Revolution forward Jose Moreno for the goal. But the promising start ultimately turned into a humdrum performance, made even grayer by the faceless and cavernous NFL venue with the plastic playing surface and by the absence of Revolution captain Shalrie Joseph, suspended by the league for a dubious tackle in Dallas last week.

There were as usual moments of quality for the Revolution. Newcomer Moreno not only scored, he showed good vision when making long passes and passes in and around the box. He also nearly got a bicycle kick on frame in the 54^th minute. Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe, Clyde Simms, Chris Tierney, and Kevin Alston were all their solid, likeable, if mostly unspectacular selves, Tierney maybe distinguishing himself above the rest, though none will be a candidate for this week’s best eleven. Ryan Guy had his moments too, including making at least three dangerous crosses.

Sene had what I’m beginning to think of as a typical performance for him, including that excellent assist to Moreno, some good through balls (he and Rowe work well together on the left), and some shots on goal. There’s something about him, though, that reminds me of the recently departed Rajko Lekic. Both Sene and Lekic are goal scorers and have good skill, so it’s hard to keep them off the field. But I often find (or, in the case of Lekic, found) myself wondering about their work rates and questioning the consistency of their effort. I have the sense that if Sene worked harder up top, you’d have a seriously dangerous player on your hands, maybe a guy who could score 15 goals a year. I hope I’m wrong, but I get the feeling he’ll only be good for 7 or 8. Still, if he keeps passing as well as he did today, that’ll be quite enough to suit his coach.

Finally, Benny Feilhaber came on in the 55^th minute to replace Nguyen. The pregame report had listed Feilhaber as “questionable” with a “peroneal strain,” which sounds serious enough. He looked healthy, though, even playing rather frantically at times. He drew a couple of fouls (his specialty) and made a good run with the ball through defenders in stoppage time, ultimately earning a corner kick. Still, Joseph and Simms are too strong and consistent to take out the middle of the field, and Nguyen and Rowe continue to look good, so you have to wonder where Feilhaber will fit into the Revolution’s suddenly crowded midfield as the season progresses.

Revolution at FC Dallas, 4.5.12

Samuel Johnson wrote that men more frequently require to be reminded than informed. Revolution players got a big, painful reminder tonight in Dallas: you finish games by fighting until the final whistle. New England fought hard on defense for 94 of 95 minutes. And because they let up in that final minute, they lost 1-0.

It was fitting that the game’s only goal was scored by a defender, Dallas’s Ugo Ihemelu, who played well all night. His counterpart on the Revolution, A.J. Soares, also had a good game. In fact, Soares might have been the man of the match had the referee blown the final whistle a few seconds before Soares fouled Dallas striker Blas Perez in the waning moments. Three minutes of stoppage time had been announced, and when Brek Shea got hold of the ball near midfield in the 94^th minute, the game might have been called then. But of course it wasn’t. And to Shea’s credit, he didn’t dillydally with the ball, but astutely played a quick, long pass to Perez, who was standing in the center of the field about 30 yards from goal. Soares’s foul on Perez set up a Zach Loyd free kick. Instead of blasting a shot, Loyd lofted a chip over the five-man Revolution wall to the back post, where a flood of Dallas attackers ran onto goal. They met with little resistance, and Ihemelu got his game-winner.

The match was largely devoid of quality and energy and of course ended in major disappointment for New England. Still, the Revolution very nearly came away with a clean sheet and a point, playing away from home against a tough western-conference opponent just five days after upsetting the Galaxy in L.A. The Revolution’s performance against Dallas wasn’t as inspired as last weekend’s effort, but it was still pretty strong, particularly that center-back pairing of Soares and Stephen McCarthy.

Clyde Simms also had a solid performance, thwarting Dallas attacks and frequently covering for Chris Tierney when the latter made attacking runs. Simms is a great complement to Shalrie Joseph, and I’m surprised and happy that D.C. cast him off. He’s such a steady and intelligent player. If that spine of Simms, Joseph, McCarthy, and Soares, can stay healthy, New England will be tough to score against, as Dallas found out tonight. I cringed when Simms was taken off with about ten minutes to go, and I can’t help wondering now if he might have disrupted one of those Dallas runners on the game’s final free kick.

Revolution at L.A. Galaxy, 3.31.12

Last year around this time, the Revolution played the Galaxy in an L.A. downpour and were exceedingly lucky to leave town with a 1-1 draw. It rained again for this season’s L.A./New England matchup. But this time around, a largely retooled Revolution squad beat the stuffing out of the Galaxy, and the 3-1 final score line fully reflected the run of play. Bizarre as it may sound, the Revolution were unquestionably the better team, pressing all over the field, creating chances, and above all defending well. Last season, no lead was too large that the Revs couldn’t lose it, but against the Galaxy the game was never seriously in doubt, even after Robbie Keane pulled one back in the 78^th minute. For the first time in a long time, Revolution fans can be forgiven for feeling something like optimism flicker in their breasts.

Rookie Kelyn Rowe was all over the field against L.A. He scored a goal and was occasionally brilliant on the ball. In the 9^th minute, for example, he skillfully settled a long ball, took part in a quick give-and-go, and then found Lee Nguyen on the left flank with a long diagonal pass. (L.A. was susceptible to the long diagonal ball, particularly in the first half.) While that buildup didn’t lead to a goal, Rowe didn’t have to wait long for his efforts to be rewarded. Seconds after Nguyen’s cross was cleared, the Revs earned a throw-in and Shalrie Joseph sent an arcing pass into the box that found a wide-open Rowe. Rowe first-timed a volley to keeper Josh Saunders and then scored off the rebound. Rowe’s best strike of the night, however, came in the 73^rd minute, when, standing near the corner of the box, he laced a one-time volley that put me in mind of Arjen Robben. Seriously, the shot was that sweet, though this time around it didn’t lead to a goal.

The Revolution back line again couldn’t finish a game intact, but all its iterations performed well. A. J. Soares was stellar in the center and played all game, positioning himself effectively and clearing the ball with conviction and composure. Stephen McCarthy returned from suspension, and I love the way he played. He took a knock from Buddle early in the second half and had some words for him. He, like Soares, is a strong player who likes to mix it up and jaw a little. Other teams’ forwards are going to dread playing against these guys, which is of course exactly the feeling you want your center backs to provoke. Outside backs Kevin Alston and Chris Tierney routinely flew up the flanks during the first half, and Tierney scored the Revolution’s second goal on a pass from his back line mate in the 13^th minute.

Tierney repeatedly pressed forward into spaces left wide open by L.A. midfielders and defenders. New England midfielder Clyde Simms, who played another strong, unflashy game, covered for Tierney on those attacks. It was a good bit of strategy from Revolution coach Jay Heaps, who should also be given credit for starting speedy Ryan Guy alongside Saer Sene at forward. Guy’s solid performance against L.A. should earn him plenty of more opportunities in that role. Joseph also had a solid game, as did Nguyen, but above all the Revolution finally exuded that indefinable quality of a team that plays like a team. Revolution players often gave solid individual efforts last year, but you seldom if ever had the sense that they were working together. Against L.A. this year, they played like Real Salt Lake, a collection of good-but-not-great players working hard as a unit.

There was one moment during the L.A. match when this unity appeared to falter. Newly signed defender Flo Lechner, who started the second half in place of Alston due to an injury, was visibly upset around the 54^th minute, throwing up his hands in frustration on the far sideline as his teammates strung together a number of passes in L.A. territory. Lechner’s paraded frustration reminded me strongly of last season’s Revolution team, which of course played in a state of perpetual frustration. I hope Heaps and/or Joseph sees Lechner’s gesture on tape and tells him that the Revolution don’t need that kind of thing. If you want the ball, then play good defense and make some good runs and eventually you’ll get it.