Revolution at D.C. United, 9.15.12: Don't Bet on It

 

Going into last Saturday’s D.C. United/New England Revolution match, there was some justification for thinking New England might win it. The Revs were coming off a 2-0 victory against the surging Columbus Crew—the Revs’ second straight clean sheet—and had drawn in each of their prior two games, a virtual geyser of points by current New England standards. Furthermore, D.C. had beaten the Revs twice already this year in games decided by a single goal, and it is, or should be, difficult to beat a rival three times in one season. On the other side, D.C. had slipped in the standings, having won only one game in their last six. Finally, last Tuesday, D.C. unfortunately lost 2011 league MVP Dwayne De Rosario to a knee injury suffered while he was playing for Canada in a World Cup qualifying match.

It pains me to say so, but if I’d been in Las Vegas last weekend, I might have laid down some (for me) serious money on New England to beat D.C. (assuming there’s a sports book in Vegas that even takes bets on MLS games). Because, you see, I “had a feeling,” one of those rare and unlooked-for surges of confidence that seems to spring from somewhere or something outside ourselves. I mention all this purely for educative purposes. We tend to remember only when these strong, sports-related premonitions prove true, as they did for me when the 1987 Redskins beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII (Denver was actually favored by 3) and when the Carolina Panthers covered the spread (and nearly won) against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

On the other hand, we tend to forget when those “feelings” don’t in the end pan out (unless we have the ill luck to actually place a big bet, in which case presumably we’d remember). In any case, I’ll wrap up this digression because this isn’t an advice column, let alone an anti-gambling blog. But I have been to Vegas many times and placed many small-dollar bets on various sporting events. Please take my word for it if you don’t have firsthand experience: it is stunningly difficult to do anything but lose money at a sports book.

But to resume: To no one’s surprise but my own, D.C. beat the Revolution 2-1, eliminating this tired, lackluster New England team from the playoffs with five games still to play. The Revolution started the same lineup they used to beat Columbus, with the exception that Jerry Bengtson started in place of Dimitry Imbongo. Bengtson did not have a memorable game, and was likely fatigued from his own international duties with Honduras. He came off in the 61^st minute for Imbongo. It is probably coincidental, but right around the time of the Imbongo substitution, D.C. exerted furious pressure on the Revs, creating a couple of excellent chances and scoring the game-winner on the second of those chances.

I could go on about how the Revolution might just as easily have won this game than lost it, marshaling superior time-of-possession and attempts-on-goal statistics to support my argument, but during that brief stretch around the 60-minute mark, D.C. effectively proved they were the superior team and deserved to win the game.

The Revs got another good game from Kevin Alston playing at left back. He was dangerous flying up the sideline and sending in left-footed crosses. He also looks better on the ball in general to me than he did last year, with an improved touch and ability to create space. The Revolution also got their first minutes from newly signed midfielder Juan Toja. Toja came on in the 73^rd minute for Flo Lechner and made an impact, sending a good ball into the box to Kelyn Rowe in the 85^th minute and drawing a foul in a dangerous area during the final seconds of stoppage time. Bizarrely, New England keeper Matt Reis called off his teammates and took the free kick himself. It sailed high over the bar.

Benny Feilhaber again did not start, coming on as a late substitute with Toja. Feilhaber added to his large and growing number of near misses, sending a scorching shot into the wrong side of the side-netting in the 79^th minute and firing a shot directly to United keeper Bill Hamid in the 86^th. It’s very difficult not to feel for the guy, just as most of us feel for baseball players stuck in a hitting slump. The unpleasant fact remains, though, that Feilhaber’s the Revolution’s highest-paid player and after 29 games and over 1,800 minutes, he’s still sitting on one goal and two assists. And his team is still sitting on a mere 28 points.