Parky Goes Deep, But Revs Fade Again

I'll start with the good. First and foremost, Michael Parkhurst scored his first MLS goal yesterday and it was a goal of the year candidate to boot (go to #1 at the end of the video):




Wow. It doesn't get any better than that. The other good thing about yesterday was the team, for most of the game, withstood the attack from an opponent putting in a playoff caliber effort.

However, that didn't stop the Revs from failing another late test by giving up an injury time goal. Yeah, the game was meaningless, but that's three disappointing games on the bounce since the US Open Cup victory. That's also seven of eight games the team has given up at least two goals.

They can ill-afford to give up two goals in the first leg against New York next Saturday. If the past is any reference, the team will bunker down and play for the tie. New York has players that can pull goals out of nowhere and they could be poised to stun our local side if they keep up their current defensive form.

Well, it's time to put the past behind and get ready for the playoffs. If you are a Revs fan, I implore you to make the trip to the Meadowlands. If the last few weeks in any indication, they'll need all the help they can get.

Also, I have to point this out:

I didn't need to prove that I'm a genius, because that's been firmly established. If you're still one of the non-believers, here's where I used mathematics to predict the future.

Sure, RSL didn't get to 32 points, but the variables changed during the summer.

Nil To Nil

Going by last night's box score, it would have appeared the Revs put on a stunning offensive performance the way Manchester United dominated inferior opponents during the past EPL season. You would be led to believe Real Salt Lake's keeper made a plethora of world class saves and the woodwork played an important role in robbing the Revs of all three points.

That wasn't the case.(click title to read more)


Although the Revs were clearly the better team, they didn't produce many (if any) clearcut chances resulting in the team being held scoreless for the first time since the opener. Sure, the Revs outshot RSL 23-8 (13-2 on goal). However, most of those shots had little chance of finding the back of the net. In fact, the shots stat was padded by numerous scuffed balls and even some poor passes. The Revs even played a man up for over ten minutes and couldn't produce a game winner. (click title to read more)

There were some positives from the game. The Revs did dominate the midfield. Salt Lake had no answer for Shalrie Joseph who muscled around his adversaries all night. It was also very satisfying watching Steve Ralston strip the ball away from Freddy Adu on numerous occasions. Micheal Parkhurst had another classy performance anchoring the defense and rookie Bryan Byrne didn't embarrass himself during his first MLS game. In fact, after he was wrongfully given a yellow card 17 seconds into his debut, he drew a red card from Ritchie Kotschau who had just made his RSL debut. I got a chuckle, which is always positive.

The Revolution moved the ball forward much better than last week, but they still seemed rather lethargic at times. Andy Dorman wasn't invisible like in previous weeks, but he clearly suffers from a lack of confidence as he failed to take the ball at the RSL players. He touched the ball off to teammates with decent efficiency, but that took him out of the attack far too often. Andy has the potential to be that spark the team needs, but he's just not playing up to last year's form.

Khano Smith embarrassed 2005 #1 draft pick folly Nick Besagno twice down the left wing which seemed to scar him for life with the way he was defending afterwards. However, Khano's success rate was hovering around the Mendoza line. By success, I mean the plays resulting in an offensive threat or a safe pass back to a teammate versus him getting the ball, stopping, sizing up his defender, and proceeding to look remarkably foolish on way to losing the ball. Twenty percent ain't going to cut it. I also take issue with the fact that the game stands still when he gets the ball. The opposing team has a chance to get back, mark the forwards, compare Mormon law with blue laws, eat a sandwich, and determine what needs to be done to make Gillette feng shui compliant all while Khano is determining if he's going to try and beat Besagno down the sideline to the left or down the sideline to the left (I think he has another move which involves going left down the sideline). The stipulation the FO has put forward for getting a DP has been a player that will attract fans and win us a championship. If I were Steve Nicol, I'd get on the phone with Ryan Giggs's agent and Sir Alex figuring out what would need to be done to get him in New England. I'm guessing $1-2 million, a decent salary, and releasing him for a testimonial in Manchester during August. Get it done. Substitute Giggs for Smith last night and tell me the Revs don't easily win that game by three goals.

This was the second straight scoreless game on the road for RSL, which can be seen as encouraging. However, I have to ask RSL fans where the heck they are going to get goal production from? They traded away Jeff Cunningham who looked dangerous in Toronto's 2-1 win over Colorado. You can't mistake Salt Lake's attack for anything dangerous last night.

The Revs stumble into the bye week with only one point from their first two games of the home stand. What ever happened to the whole "Fortress Gillette" concept? Luckily, they are only one point back of Kansas City who beat a 10-man New York side last night. Things are really heating up in the east. Can New England stay in the kitchen? We'll see.


Other Recaps

ESPN
MLSnet
Soccer New England
New England Soccer News
Revolutionsoccer.net
Fox Sports
The Olympian
AP
RSLFM Report

Revs Put Up A Stinker So I Retreated To The Ocean

I woke up too late on Sunday for a proper review of that atrocity on Saturday night. I visited friends down the Jersey Shore from Sunday until this morning, and I'm glad to be back. Here's some quick thoughts on the happenings over the weekend:
(click title to read more)

* The Revs seemed surprised by the way the ball was sticking to the pitch and were unable to cope.

* KC wanted the game more, plain and simple. There was an obvious lapse after the Revs went up 2-0, and the Wiz made them pay.

* Jay Heaps got owned by Eddie Johnson. James Riley looked lost at times. What the heck was Avery John doing on the bench?

* With Chicago in freefall, it's a three team race in the East. I think the Revs look the weakest leg of the pyramid right now.

* The Revs deserved to lose the last two games. Getting three points out of those matches was fortunate.

* Andy Dorman continues to become less and less a part of the New England attack.

* I'm hoping Stevie Nicol is putting the boot to the team this week. They better destroy Salt Lake.

* At least the reserves won 3-0 on Sunday morning. It also looks like Daniel Hernandez will be back shortly. With Jeff Larentowicz's substandard performance as of late, he may be a welcome addition to the lineup (I can't believe I just typed that).


Fantasy Soccer Bootroom will be back soon. My schedule's been hectic as of late and I've been neglecting it. Check back Monday for the next installment.

Revs Squeak By Houston 1-0

In a game reminiscent of last year's Eastern Conference final, the New England Revolution scored early and then hung, hung, hung on for a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo tonight. Shalrie Joseph scored the lone goal before the Revs fell back into their version of the Maginot Line. Although our defense proved just as porous as that bit of French engineering, the outcome was different as the good guys repelled wave after wave of second half assaults from our orange adversaries. (click title to read more)

My immediate reaction is that we can't keep doing this. Then again, maybe we can. The way I see it, there will be at least another ten games this season where we will go into halftime with the lead. We have become so accustomed to this tactic, we have to be getting good at it, right? If we can only drop 6-8 points in those games, and have a few come from behind victories, we'll be close to the top of the table all year. How's that for a positive spin? Truth is, our form was piss poor tonight.

Khano Smith may have been ready to keel over and die from exhaustion towards the end, but he sure did play a lackadaisical game. Most of his passes seemed wasteful and without purpose. Andy Dorman had a bad game and came off for rookie Wells Thompson who looked even worse. Shalrie Joseph didn't exert himself much in the midfield, and came out around the hour mark. I hope he's not injured. Joey Franchino held himself admirably in his place. Riley continued to look shaky in the back and Adam Cristman disappeared in the second half. This is the type of game Taylor Twellman was ineffective in last year, and tonight was no different. Did I miss anyone?

Oh yeah, Micheal Parkhurst had a standout performance at central defense and Matt Reis played maybe his best game of the season between the sticks. Both were co-MVP's in my book. Without that duo, Houston would have probably won 3-1.

The only great thing the team can take away from this is they played poorly, yet still won. They have proven to be explosive at times, and are going into a very long homestand. Even with the national team callups, they should fare well over the next few months. A poor performance sometimes translates into hard, effective training sessions. Let's hope that is the case as the Revs get ready to host Kansas City next week. There should be a good crowd with Ireland playing beforehand, so let's hope the home team puts on a good show.


Other Recaps:

Boston Herald
Boston Globe
revolutionsoccer.net
Houston Chronical
ESPN Soccernet
Monsters & Critics
MLSnet

Revs Beat LA Galaxy 3-2, Move To Top Of MLS

The Revs haven't played a game like that in quite awhile. Sure, last week's scoreline was 3-1, but both teams deserved a slap on the wrist for their performance. The game that just finished at the Home Depot Center in LA had what most Revolution games have lacked since 2005: pace. There were glimpses of that quick-passing possession team of old, as well as Adam Cristman really exerting himself physically on an opponent for the first time. The Revs defense did look weak when LA countered, but for the most part, it was their best performance of the season. (click title to read article)

LA took a 1-0 lead into halftime with a well-placed Kyle Martino volley in the 14th minute. It was one of two chances the Galaxy had on net in the first half. However, the other, which was also on the counter attack, came about by Landon Donovan simply outplaying James Riley on the right side of the goal mouth. Luckily, Landycakes flubbed the shot wide.

The Revs did have their chances in the opening period. Most notably, Adam Cristman somehow missed a sitter resulting from a miss-timed cross to Twellman. On another occasion, Cristman beat his mark through shear man-strength and had a clear chance on net only to have his shot deflected out by a diving Ty Harden.

Luckily for New England, LA didn't come out for the second half quite as motivated as the boys in blue. Adam Cristman scored his first career MLS goal when he boxed out his defender to turn on a Steve Ralston flick-on header. The assist puts Stevie at #2 on the all-time MLS assists list, just one behind Carlos Valderrama. Oh, and did I mention he set the all-time games played record for MLS regular season games played tonight, also? Way to go Stevie!

New England didn't wait too long afterwards to take the lead. In the 52nd minute, Taylor Twellman headed a Jay Heaps feed off the crossbar and then finished off the rebound by heading the ball in the net. The Revs dominated the action for the next ten minutes, before falling into their all to familiar "protect the one goal lead shell". LA evened up the score sheet with a Tyrone Marshall short post header off of a corner kick.

The Revolution response was quick. Pat Noonan, who was substituted in for Cristman ten minutes earlier, fed Taylor Twellman a perfect pass in front of net where his fellow Missouri native finished for the winner. That was the way the game ended as the Revs moved to the top of the MLS table with 14 points.

It's hard to find a lot to fault after a fine, energetic showing on the road, but I'll give it a whack. James Riley looked shaky in the back, even before his nemesis, Nate Jaqua, came on. LA seemed to find a way to create space on his side all night. I thought Jeff Larentowicz was invisible for most of the night, and the pace of the game may have been too quick for him at times.

That's about all the negatives, though. Khano Smith worked Chris Albright hard on the left side and you could see the effect that had on him. Smith may have not won every battle, but he was a positive factor. He also made a few moves beating defenders to his right. The scouting report on him will have to be updated, as overplaying his left foot may not be a successful tactic in the future.

The rest of the team looked sharp, especially when passing to create space. That may have been a hit against LA's lack of a presence in the midfield, but the Revs just haven't looked that good in so long.

Lastly, Micheal Parkhurst may have been the key to victory. His marking and positioning squelched many the Galaxy attack before it could start, and I can't say too many good things about his timely tackling.

Next up is Houston in a rematch of MLS Cup. Win that one, and they'll look like world beaters heading home to Foxboro in two weeks time.


Other Recaps

New England Revolution Official Site
MLSnet
ESPN Soccernet
Boston Globe

Revs Beat Chicago 3-1

I woke up late this morning so I didn't have time to do a proper preview of this afternoon's game. I'm glad it worked out that way. I was going to have a picture of a rugby scrum and predict the inevitable 1-1 bloodbath at Gillette Stadium as the two heated rivals pushed and shoved their way through another lethargic contest. Luckily, I couldn't have been more wrong. (click title to read more)

Although far from beautiful soccer was on display at Gillette Stadium, the game was anything but physical as the Revs danced their way to a 3-1 victory. The referee called the game very tight and didn't allow either team to infringe excessively on the other (A frickin men). Those who saw Chicago's game a week ago in Houston can attest to my fears going into this one.

All three goals had nothing to do with Taylor Twellman or Andy Dorman which is a first from the run of play this year and a very good sign. Skipper Stevie Ralston had a goal and an assist, Wells Thompson sneaked his way through a defender to score his first MLS goal, and Adam Cristman made his presence known throughout the afternoon.

For my money, the player of the game was Jeff Larentowicz. He held the midfield rather admirably with Shalrie Joseph sitting out due to suspension. He also distributed the ball flawlessly at times and always seemed ahead of his Chicago counterparts.

Pat Noonan sat the game out to avoid aggravating his injuries and Andy Dorman was subbed out at the hour mark. For the Revs to score two goals in the second half with so many veteran players out of the game speaks volumes. Although, it's safe to say Chicago didn't bring their A game.

The Revs are now second in the MLS table on goal differential ahead of New York, although they have a game in hand. Their next contest is this weekend in LA who will be playing their second game in 3 1/2 weeks (the league back-loaded their games for Beckham). It'll be interesting to see how that one plays out.

Revs @ DC ends 1-1, Thoughts Of Buring Iowans Dancing In My Head

Well, last night's game almost drove me back to the bottle. I'd gladly put back on the 30 pounds I've lost and suffer the internal infections I was getting that led me to take a long break from my regular pub calls if MLS didn't give me another reason to jump back on the conspiracy bandwagon (this is something I do every few years on my own, but a bladder infection in September and a viral infection in an uncomfortable place in November prompted this healthy phase).

Last night, the Revs went into DC with seemingly the same strategy they've used in every away game: play defensively, hope for a score, and then play even more defensively. The plan seemed to be working as New England stifled DC's attack throughout the first half.

Then, right from the start in the second half, the Revs struck with a brilliant upfield pass from Shalrie Joseph to Taylor Twellman who had his shot deflected to the waiting feet of Andy Dorman. The welshenglish-american then finished it for one of the easiest goals of his MLS career.

Then, in the next minute, James Riley was called for a clear shoulder to shoulder situation in the box with Jaime Moreno which the despicable diver finished from the spot. I guess the ref was worried Barra Brava might not be as loud for the national TV audience and needed to do his best to swing the momentum back in DC's favor. That's my most benign theory on that absolutely dreadful call. As it happened, I thought for an instance that Moreno was getting called for diving. Instead, Moreno converted his 30th penalty of his carreer, a stat that will cause Taylor Twellman an extra two seasons to pass the cherry-picker on the all-time goals list.

Then, in an officiating scene reminiscent of Leslie Nielsen's umping antics before calling strike three in "The Naked Gun", Referee Terry Vaughn gave Shalrie Joseph a red card for beating Ben Olsen to the ball. Yes, he went in hard. However, it was a borderline foul at best. If he gave a yellow to him for consistently going in hard, that would have been one thing. However, giving a red card for that play on it's own was both flat out wrong and a game-changing decision.

On a side note, Ben Olsen clearly was giving the "card him" gesture after the play. MLS has been clear about that gesture warranting a yellow card this season. I guess all four referees missed it. If the Revs appeal, or in a more likely case MLS reviews it to see how much money they can bleed from the underpaid player, they have to see Olsen doing that gesture. Of course, Olsen is in the US player pool and hasn't been complaining about his salary, so there is little chance of any punishment after the fact. I'm usually against such retroactive punishment, but this game brought out the homerism in me.

Brian Carroll's late handball in the box wasn't called, and for good reason. Referee Terry Vaughn was too busy beating a drum with the Screaming Eagles and smokinh crack with Marion Barry. That's the only logical explanation for the no-call.

The Revs did bunker down with effectiveness after the Joseph ejection. However, it took an absolutely brilliant save in the closing minutes by Matt Reis to avoid a loss. That must have brought a tear to the eyes of MLS officials who saw DC United's marketing potential diminish with them settling for only their first point of the season. They quickly went back to what they do best: writing phony press releases embellishing their successes and attempting to shake down education money from municipalities to build soccer specific stadiums.

This blogger does not encourage the act of pooping in a Pringles can and mailing it to Terry Vaughn. Especially since there is more than one Terry Vaughn in the Iowa phone book (I checked). They are all probably his brothers and sisters, so if you wanna risk it, go for it. However, you're on your own. I can't bail fellow supporters out of jail every time they do something threatening to a ref. The "put Micheal Kennedy in a rack until he grows to four feet" incident pretty much drained my bank account.

Seriously, of all the places to find a referee, MLS goes looking in Iowa?

This result makes the Sunday's home game with Chicago even more important. A win and the Revs are right up there with the other top performing teams in MLS. A loss, and the team is clearly stuck in the middle of the table for some time. A position I feel their away performance has justified.

Revs Beat Dallas 1-0

Well, it was a grind if I ever saw one, but the Revs escaped with three points today in Frisco, TX. Taylor Twellman's first half volley sealed the deal and then the Revs bunkered down somewhat to finish out their first win in Texas in just under two years.

The game was somewhat even, with FC Dallas creating few opportunities to even up. The much scrutinized and undersized New England back three stifled the home side's attack throughout the afternoon. Micheal Parkhurst played the full 90 minutes and picked up right where he left off. For those not in the know, Parkhurst is developing into a spitting image of Gareth Southgate in the way he compensates for his slightly undersized frame with near perfect positioning and composure. I'd say he'd be the next to go to Europe if he didn't go about his business so quietly. Dallas's size advantage was supposed to take it to the Revs today, but the backline trio of Parky, Jay Heaps, and Avery John (and then Riley for John) stood their ground admirably.

Khano Smith again looked sloppy and Wells Thompson failed to impress when he came on in the second half. Pat Noonan seemed out of sync at times and Dorman, too, had difficulty with the combination play. This doesn't bode well for a Revolution team that will be in DC this Thursday to face a pointless DC United side. The consensus preseason conference favorite is bound to snap out of their funk and the Revs will have trouble managing a draw in their current form.

The game offered little excitement for the neutral observer, but so goes life in the MLS's Eastern Conference. The Revs join Columbus, Chicago, and NY as teams that will be very tough to score on this year. Get ready for a summer filled with 1-1 draws.

Revs Blow Late 2-1 Lead, Escape With Draw

Well, the result tonight was probably just, but the Revs have to be disappointed to have given up a 86th minute goal to the Columbus Crew. Here's some quick thoughts:


* Joseph dominated the midfield, but the Crew controlled the wings.

* Twellman had a great chance to put the game away in the second half after a nice feed from Pat Noonan. He'll be hitting himself when he sees the replay.

* Khano Smith has returned to his summer 2006 form. That isn't a good thing.

* The Revs were sitting on their lead for most of the second half. They really could ave pushed harder for another goal. This was our problem last year. This lack of urgency will come come back to bite them with the way the playoff spots are deermined from now on.


I'll be running a Revs stadium fluff series over the ten day break. If you're into that kind of thing, check back often for the first installment.

Four - Nil To The Boys In Blue

Well, it wasn't tough to figure out who were the expansion side tonight. The New England Revolution easily handled Toronto FC in the home opener 4-0. The Revolution were in sync all night, but the visitors from the north had trouble stringing passes effectively going forward. That didn't stop them from fouling aggressively, though. They had four well deserved yellow cards and could of had more.

As expected, Shalrie Joseph was money in the center of the pitch making everyone around him better. Rookie Adam Cristman should have scored off of a sweet through ball from Jeff Larentowicz. However, the rook rightfully earned a penalty shortly afterwards resulting in Joseph opening his 2007 account. Khano Smith possibly played his best and most consistant game in a Revolution jersey tonight. He got the better of his Toronto counterparts on numerous occasions, while creating scoring opportunities.

Andy Dorman scored the 500th goal in Revolution history via a late run and a great feed from Steve Ralston. The Defense was solid, Taylor Twellman had a brace, and Matt Reis had no poblems with the new fieldturf.

I can't think of anything to complain about. I'll think of something and post it here tomorrow.

Well done lads!

4/7 Post Game Recap: Chicago 1-0 New England

Dropping three points to the Chicago Fire wasn't the best way to start the season. However, it wasn't all bad. The Revs did out-shoot their opponents 18-11, but only 5 of the team's shots were on net. Four Revolution players made their first team debut, but aside from some neat footwork from Wells Thompson, there wasn't much to talk about from the newcomers. New England may have controlled play for stretches, but I can't think of the last time the Revs actually controlled play when they had the lead so I have a hard time crediting them for creating half-chances while behind.

The only two Revs who seemed to shine at all were Andy Dorman and Pat Noonan, who finally made his return to the lineup after off-season hernia surgery. When Noonan came off the bench, the team's passing was crisper, and the offense started creating real chances on a consistent basis. Andy Dorman showed signs that 2006 wasn't a fluke season for the Wales native. Both players have to stay healthy for the Revs to be successful this year.

On the subject of health, Shalrie Joseph has to get healthy. The same goes for Smith and Hernandez. Thompson did a respectable job wide left, but he's right-footed and would be better suited subbing in for Ralston each week and gaining his MLS legs that way. Speaking of Ralston, Stevie was pretty unspectacular last night. He was required to pick up a lot of the defensive slack with an inexperienced Gary Flood at DM. I'm happy the gaffer has faith in my fellow Hofstra attendee, but he looked out of place in the midfield. I'm hoping he can be a starting defender down the line, but I want him nowhere near the center of the pitch ever again.

On the attack, Twellman faced the usually amount of abuse from the Fire and Adam Cristman went missing for long stretches. Arsene Oka also made his debut in an attempt to add an offensive spark, but Chicago did a pretty good job in killing the game off.

The good news is that we are only 3 points back from Chicago who sit atop the Eastern Conference after matchday 1. I'm also happy we face them at home in a month. The Fire didn't impress me last night as much as I thought they would. It's good to get another crack at them before they have time to gain some form, or before Blanco arrives. The bad news is the playoff participants are now determined by single table, so even though teams like DC and Toronto lost, some Western Conference teams won and we are competing with them for postseason spots now.

Here's my player grades for the game:

1 - Matt Reis.........6
4 - Avery John........6
6 - Jay Heaps.........5
7 - Adam Cristman.....4
13 - Jeff Larentowicz..5
14 - Steve Ralston.....4
16 - James Riley.......6
17 - Gary Flood........3
20 - Taylor Twellman...5
25 - Andy Dorman.......8
27 - Wells Thompson....7
11 - Pat Noonan........7
32 - Arsene Oka........5

* My grading system is a work in progress.