Andrew Farrell contemplates the Revolution’s 2-0 loss to Columbus
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – There seems to be no end in sight for the New England Revolution’s current spell of doom and gloom.
The Columbus Crew rolled into Gillette Stadium on Saturday night and handed the Revolution their fourth consecutive loss, sending most of the 20,224 in attendance home unhappy.
At the south end of the stadium, a small contigent of Crew fans cheered and rejoiced. Their team had just won their first road game of the season and snapped a 10-game losing streak that started on June 1.
“It’s unacceptable, quite frankly,” said Revolution coach Jay Heaps. “It’s points in the game where you have to be solid, points where we talk about being solid, be aggressive, but be smart-aggressive and not step when you’re not supposed to. Stand up when you’re supposed to stand up, and be turned in and locked in.
“Two weeks in a row it’s the same plays. It’s disheartening and frustrating, but it’s on all of us to get it right.”
New England started with energy, pushing high up the field in search of an early goal, but that left them vulnerable in defense.
In the eighth minute, Hector Jimenez found a gap on the left wing and sent the ball forward to Justin Meram, who cut past London Woodberry and squared the ball to the center of the box, where Ethan Finlay tapped an easy finish past goalkeeper Brad Knighton.
Finlay went in alone on Knighton again in the 22nd minute off a feed by Federico Higuain, but the Revs keeper dropped low to make the necessary stop.
Columbus maintained their offensive pressure, threatening to double their lead before halftime.
Mohammed Saeid fired a shot from the top of the box that Knighton went right to parry in the 40th minute. Ola Kamara slid onto the rebound, Knighton kicking the loose ball away, but right into the path of Finlay, whose shot got headed off the line by New England defender Andrew Farrell.
The Revolution conceded another goal in the 49th minute, as Ola Kamara stole possession away from Woodberry in New England’s end of the field. Kamara approacehd the box, then dished the ball centrally to Higuain, who put the ball past Knighton for the 2-0 lead.
Revolution defender Chris Tierney lobbed a long range effort that Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark had to tip away in the 50th minute, then Diego Fagundez, who entered the match in the 56th minute for Teal Bunbury, blasted a shot from a tight angle on the right side of the box at the hour mark that Clark again knocked clear.
In the 74th minute, Tierney’s cross reached Kei Kamara, whose header managed to bounce past Clark, but was cleared off the line at the last minute by Columbus center back Michael Parkhurst.
“I thought it was in,” Kamara told reporters after the match.
“It’s kind of give and take in that situation when you’re home and the team scores first, because it either wakes you up, you know? Unfortunately, we weren’t able to bounce back from those goals and we gave away some points.”
The Revolution have now lost four consecutive games – something they had yet to do this season. They’ve also been outscored 13 to 2 during that time.
