New England Revolution 0 - Seattle Sounders 2: 3 Thoughts
Starbucks is better than Dunkin
The New England Revolution returned to the pitch on Saturday evening and suffered a 2-0 defeat.
While Carles Gil remained out, Brandon Bye earned his first start since returning from an ACL injury. Dylan Borrero also remained in the starting XI after earning a start on Wednesday.
Or well it appeared that way.
After he was named in the starting XI, Borrero was replaced by Jack Panayotou in the starting lineup.
Along with Ema Boateng, Mark-Anthony Kaye and Nick Lima missed the match. Noel Buck was also on the flank opposite Borrero with Esmir Bajrakatrevic playing as a No. 10. Matt Polster and Ian Harkes maintained their spots in the starting XI with Dave Romney and Xavier Arreaga serving as the center back pair.
Up top, Giacomo Vrioni remained the lone striker while Aljaz Ivacic was New England’s goalkeeper.
But what do you need to know about Saturday’s match? Here are three thoughts.
1 - Outmuscled
It didn’t take long for Seattle to find the back of the net as Jordan Morris scored in the 15th minute. While Ivacic was once again caught flat-footed, he isn’t the man who deserves blame for the goal.
Dave Romney had a rough showing against Seattle. Considering his previous run out of starts before a mid-week stint on the bench due to squad rotation, it is hard to blame a pressing miscommunication on lack of chemistry.
Romney pressed forward and tried to muscle Morris off the ball but failed to do a good enough job. With Romney near the halfway line, space was plenty and Morris ran onto a pass and the New England center back failed to catch up.
Elsewhere, Romney didn’t seem confident on the ball and seemed like he was consistently under the gun. The veteran center back made multiple mistakes over the course of the match.
While I wouldn’t be surprised if Romney returns to the bench after his performance, Caleb Porter’s decision will be made harder due to the fact that Xavier Arreaga will miss out on the next match due to yellow card accumulation.
While Romney likely won’t be exiled to soccer Siberia like he was earlier in the season, he needs to perform better.
2 - Crossing Wires
In the system that the Revolution play, the outside backs play an important role and they failed to do their job on Saturday.
Bye and Jones were whipping crosses into the box but failed to properly connect with teammates. The Morris goal directly came off a deflected cross but it would be a bit harsh to blame the goal on Bye.
After 45 minutes, Jones completed none of his two crosses while Bye failed to complete any of his six crosses. It isn’t asking too much for these players to complete just one of these attempts.
Jones and Bye need to provide better service. Whether it be in the air to Vrioni or a low-driven ball into the box, chances forward can’t be wasted.
3 - Dead Legs
In the second half, it was clear that New England was playing its third game in seven days. Seattle dominated the half and was in complete control. while the Revs struggled to create any real chances.
With injuries continuing to run rampant through the team, the Revolution didn’t have a full slate of options to choose from in terms of rotating. It isn’t necessarily too surprising that they ended up giving up a late goal and suffering defeat.
Still considering the hole that New England has dug itself, any points lost are going to hurt. The Revolution will look to bounce back against Orlando City next weekend.
Passing is awful. Yep, Bye and Jones did not connect, but who were they trying to get the ball TO? Who is supposed to be the recipient of those balls? Where were THOSE players? You blame Romney for that first goal? Ivacic just stood there. And when he has to kick the ball away, he doesn't ever get it to one of his teammates. Of course, playing 3 matches in a week is hard, and injuries have been a problem (what is the training staff doing?), but you know what? TIME MANAGEMENT has consistently been an issue for Porter. Throughout the season, he's consistently left people on the field too long, and over time, that has to add up to injuries and fatigue. One good thing, seeing McNamara on the sideline pointing things out to Buck. Someone needs to teach the younger guys. Too often it looks like this team has never played together, and given the number of injuries (and the amount of time players end up in Siberia), that is an expected result.
unsubscribing because of that subheader 😤