The New England Revolution played a game that ended 2-2 against Montreal, with the possibility to sum it up with a story as old as the game itself. That is the enduring classic, of which there are many chapters, known as The Tale of Two Halves.
The Revs led 2-0 at the half in a game where the score could have just as easily been almost anything else. The Revs created more point-blank chances and moments where a chance should have been created but wasn't, while Montreal had a few near misses of their own from close range.
But that isn't the most compelling story nor is it tactically interesting. What is far more interesting, which is as friendly a term as we can find, is the continued selection dilemma from the left-sided attacking position.
The Revs seem to have the same issue as the Democratic Party currently does in choosing who will represent them on the left. For Democrats, it's deciding between more traditional left-leaning politicians or embracing the Democratic Socialists of America's insurgent candidates.
For the Revs, it's apparently choosing between the 3rd choice striker, Carlos Zambrano, Griffin Yow (a winger who hasn't gelled yet), or Diego Fagundez, the seasoned veteran who still has the sharpness of mind and skill in his feet to impact a game. This is all playing out while the team waits for Luca Langoni to regain full fitness, he managed about 35 minutes on Saturday, and the arrival of Jack Harrison to the starting lineup.
This position is ever more crucial because the Revs seem pretty determined to utilize the goal-scoring threat of Peyton Miller as a left-foot-preferring right winger with an outside back pairing that has limited attacking capabilities.
And let's not forget a center forward who is sparsely involved in build-up play, is not a multi-dimensional striker, and doesn't seem to have a poacher's instinct of sniffing out where the chances will present themselves all that often.
The Revs can simply just wait for Langoni and Harrison to swoop in a few weeks from now and be their left-sided savior, sure. Come playoff time, this may all not matter; Zambrano, Yow and Fagundez might be a million miles away from meaningful playing time.
But until then, the Revs attacking setup since returning from the break has been less optimal than it could be. For all the good times of last week's 4-1 goal fest, the Revs have drawn two of their last three, and both NYCFC and Cincinnati – sitting in 5th and 6th in the East – have been in better form and inching closer. Staying a top four team come playoff time will be critical for the Revs to make a run.
So why Zambrano?
We've seen him get the start in two consecutive games and has decidedly looked out of place in all phases of play. Will Sands needs all the help he can get and received little from Zambrano against Montreal. Zambrano is clearly uncomfortable tracking runners and defending in deep positions, as you would expect from someone accustomed to not needing to do either.
Langoni and Yow have both shown diligence in their pressing and defensive responsibilities. Yow might not be scoring or assisting much but he doesn't hurt the team defensively.
Zambrano does.
The Revs didn't concede from a chance created on their left side; that much is true. That can be chalked up to good fortune more than anything else they did to defend their left side.
Zambrano's biggest contribution to the game last night was disrupting Dor Turgeman from scoring with a very odd run/slide into the same space Turgeman was clearly attacking. Perhaps the thought was Zambrano's striker's instincts would be of benefit as the Revs once again picked one side of the field to attack on and stuck with it. Attacking heavily up the right side, perhaps the game plan was for Zambrano to arrive in the penalty area from the left and look to get into good attacking spaces.
But that didn't occur.
Sands has also reverted hard to the player he has been before this season as well. His left-footed momentum-killing chop back to his much less preferred right foot has become as ineffective as it is odd to have developed in the first place. He once again offered but a single decent attacking moment last night.
Over at right back, Matt Polster showed some signs of understanding the inherent advantages of being a right-footed player playing behind an inverted winger and had some self-discovery of the joy of the overlap into open space. He delivered precisely one good ball on the night that amazingly rolled across the entirety of Montreal's goal completely untouched. Zambrano could have justified his selection in this moment with a simple back post run but was nowhere to be found.
Once the game had leveled at 2-2 the Revs made four substitutions: Cody Baker and Wilson Harris in the 73rd minute and, finally, Griffin Yow along with Jackson Yueill in the 86th.
Fagundez ended the game as an unused sub. Fagundez not getting a chance in this situation while being fit enough for the bench is perplexing. He has offered quality on the ball already this season, is not old at 31 years of age, and just last season had six goals and two assists in MLS. He's found the back of the net in every single MLS season going back to 2011. You'd always back his chances to come up with something late in a game.
The Revs have benefited from the addition of several young players to the starting eleven this season. Ethan Kohler is the best defender on the team and the closest thing they have to a deep-lying playmaker. Brooklyn Raines has delivered steady performances filling a variety of needs in central midfield, and Miller has been healthy while greatly contributing to the team's attack.
But going with youth isn't always the answer. Seth Moulton may be running an entire campaign based on the fact that Ed Markey is old but whether its the left of the political spectrum or the left side of the field, being young isn't enough to justify a chance or repeated chances to make an impact. Sometimes you need to turn to the old guy who's been around for a while and knows how to get it done.
Will the Revs give Yow, a player who knows the position another chance next week to finally make his mark going forward, while providing reliable defensive work? Will Diego get the call if they need a late goal or will they just wait for the savior to arrive in the No. 11 shirt?
