Missed opportunities cost the New England Revolution during their two-game home stand last week, as they tied the San Jose Earthquakes 0-0 on Wednesday and DC United 2-2 on Saturday.
The tougher pill to swallow for New England is probably the DC game, since the hosts had the lead, gave it away, and passed up at least two can’t-miss chances.
For the record, the bloopers were on the part of Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury.
In the first half, with his team up 1-0, Kamara sent a rebound off a Diego Fagundez shot ballooning to the left of the net, which was completely open.
Kamara nearly made it up for it in the 81st minute when he headed a cross from Chris Tierney off the right post with the score tied 2-2. Still, the Revolution got a second chance: the header clanged off the post and rolled to the feet of Teal Bunbury, who scuffed his chance embarrassingly despite having DC United goalkeeper Bill Hamid out of the goal.
oh wow. oh no… pic.twitter.com/I1aaxtVUjD
— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) April 23, 2017
Both misses were costly on two levels for the Revs.
Kamara is a designated player and makes $1,000,000 per season, per the MLS Players Union. Bunbury is a league veteran and makes a more modest—but not insignificant—$250,000, per 2016 salary figures.
To put it bluntly, both players are literally paid to score goals, which means misses of that variety are particularly egregious.
That’s not to say to say you don’t cut players slack for making mistakes, but there are basic expectations that need to be met when forwards shoot at an open goal.
It’s also a matter of numbers. Saturday’s game was end-to-end and high-octane and the Revolution produced 18 of the 30 total shots. Hamid made five saves in addition to the two goals he conceded, plus there was Kamara’s header off the post. The Revolution had two golden opportunities to add to their total, but let them both slip away.
Which is another reason why those two misses were so costly: the Revs were playing at home against a conference rival in their second of two consecutive home games. They came away with two points out of six, which could have enormous implications come playoff time.
New England have more than 80 percent of their schedule remaining, but they’ve learned the lesson of dropping points early in the season before. Most notably, last season, when they were tied on points for the Eastern Conference’s sixth and final playoff spot but didn’t clinch due to goal differential.
Goals turn into points, so those missed chances add up.
