The New England Revolution looked just about as mediocre as their (now) 1-2-5 record in Saturday evening’s 3-0 loss to DC United at RFK Stadium.
After starting the match on the front foot, the Revs eventually caved and crumbled, letting the hosts jump ahead on Lamar Neagle’s penalty kick before giving up two late goals to Kellyn Acosta and Alvaro Saborio, respectively.
Saturday marked the third time this season that the Revolution, who are now on a three-game winless run have been shutout.
History suggests that his sluggish start to the season – and the sloppy form that goes with it – are part of the Revolution’s norm. This club is, in fact, famous for its slow starts.
But in the past, there’s usually always been one specific area that has needed improvement. At the moment, the Revs look like they need help in a number of places.
They’re allowing too many goals, scoring too few, and looking second-best in too many phases of the game.
Here are two additional thoughts from Saturday’s match:
- The attack is stagnant
At many times this season, referees have left a negative (and in fairness, positive) mark on the Revolution. Saturday was not one of those times. The Revolution only looked like they were in full command in the opening 20 minutes and in flashes during the second half.
Part of the problem is health of their players. Charlie Davies is on the fringes while Juan Agudelo is out injured, thus pitting Teal Bunbury to play out of position as the lone striker.
As far as chances created go, the Revolution are generating most of their attacks from Chris Tierney and Lee Ngugyen. True, both players are in a playmaking role. But overreliance never works out. See Shalrie Joseph from 2010-2012.
- Christ Tierney
Speaking of Tierney, the hope is that his hamstring injury isn’t too major. Once get left Saturday’s game, his role was mostly filled by Diego Fagundez, who kept switching to his right foot despite being on the left side of the field.
Uh-oh. Tierney has created nearly 200 chances in his last four years as a player. He is arguably the most dangerous crosser in the league and is a force in both open play and set pieces.
We got to see just how much the Revolution rely on Tierney on Saturday. Clearly, there is no back-up in place. That’s going to hurt, both offensively and defensively. The question is: how long?
