Reasons to Stick With the Revs

“Just stick with us” was Ian Harkes appeal to Revs fans after their third straight MLS loss to open the season. Reasons why might be hard to fathom at the moment but let's give it a go.

Photo By J.Alexander Dolan

The biggest reason to stick with the Revs deeper into this season is that it’s still early. It may feel like a long season already with three straight weekends with little to cheer for but the Revs have only played three matches this MLS season. That leaves 91% of the 102 points available to an MLS team still to be contested. Last season’s champions — the Columbus Crew — started off 2023 almost as badly winning just one of their first four games, tying one and losing two.

With the current playoff format in place last season, it took just 43 points to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. To get to 43 points and be in the playoff picture the Revs would need to pickup only 46% of the remaining available points. Have the Revs already taken themselves out of the running for a top four finish and home field advantage in the playoffs? Probably. Can they still qualify? Absolutely.

The three losses so far have painted a grim picture, there’s no getting around it. On the road, the Revs have looked ineffective in the final third, they’ve not dealt with being pressed well at all, and have let both games get away from them and ended with lopsided results. That can’t continue for another 15 away games or this season will be doomed.

Both road games had a key turning point, however, and these events can’t be ignored. The obvious turning point away to D.C. was Giacomo Vrioni’s red card mid-way through the first half. Vrioni and the team as a whole know, they can’t revisit that situation again.

Last night Matt Polster whined and complained his way to a yellow, as he’s prone to do. But he kept himself on the field by avoiding the typical clumsy and silly yellow card from a “professional foul” we’ve come to expect from him.

Saturday night’s game turned on the ridiculous awarding of a penalty for Lima’s handball. Even for MLS, this was an amazingly poor call that wasn’t rectified by VAR. You can blame the replacement refs and act like the usual refs wouldn’t screw something up that badly but there’s ample evidence to the contrary. Over the course of a season the calls tend to balance out, you get some bad ones that go against you and get some that favor you.

Porter described how the game turned on that second goal perfectly:l.

“So now, you're down 2-0, now they're in more transitions, they're a very talented team, and now we're trying to now push a little more and we're gambling with a more aggressive attacking shape,” he said. “It's just not the type of game we want to be in down 2-0 in that second half, and I don't think we had anything left to give, honestly.”

We have no idea how that D.C. game could have gone without the red card. The Revs were totally outplayed, yes, but they hadn’t yet conceded. And we saw them steady themselves after a poor start just last Thursday against LDA and come out winners.

Against Atlanta, the Revs hung in for most of the first half, they split the possession 50/50, had three shots from inside Atlanta’s penalty area, hit the crossbar and defended well up until the first penalty was given. It wasn’t an incredible opening 45 minutes by any stretch but it was the type of performance required over 90 minutes to get away points in MLS.

The home opener against Toronto also turned on the only real bright spot TFC had. It was otherwise a dominating performance from the Revs. One that, when repeated will deliver three points more often than not. So three games, decided in three moments, a poor decision by Vrioni, a goal of the year candidate from Lorenzo Insigne and a bad call at a bad time from the refs.

Maybe every critical turning point in the next 31 games won’t go the Revs way either. But we’re not quite there yet in calling this a doomed season, well, not all of us anyway.

Let’s look to what lies ahead before we write this whole thing off, three straight MLS home games are to come after Thursday’s trip to Costa Rica to finish off LDA. There will also be a break from the CONCACAF Champion’s Cup as well during those three home games. The two road games that follow are short trips to Yankee Stadium for the annual appreciation of someone having a worse stadium situation than us (and they have oil money) game and Toronto who’s stadium proves that soccer specific isn’t always better.

That’s next to no travel for the road weary Revs and three straight home games. It’s the perfect moment to turn this season around. If the Revs take seven points from the next nine at home, Revs fans can breath a little. If they don’t, then it might be time to reconsider sticking with the Revs for this year.