New England Revolution 0, DC United 2. Photo/Kari Heistad
The New England Revolution looked helplessly outclassed in their 2-0 lost to DC United at RFK Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A listless Revs side looked like it was allergic to shooting – and attacking, in general – and fell by the wayside as the hosts capitalized on tiny errors.
New England had two big opportunities to score, one in the sixth minute when Daigo Kobayashi lashed at shot from outside the box that DC keeper Bill Hamid had to drop low to parry, and the other a point-blank shot from Lee Nguyen at the start of the second half that Hamid also stopped.
There was nothing particularly special about either of DC’s goals – the first, a volley into the roof of the net by Lamar Neagle and the second finish off the bar and in by Sean Franklin – except for the fact that the Revolution very poorly defended both plays.
Here are specific takeaways on the game:
Hard stats don’t tell the Revolution’s story
Statistics indicate that New England shot 11 times and had four shots on target. On the surface, that seems pretty good, especially since DC edged the Revs in both categories 13 to five. So at least it was close, right?
Not quite. DC’s chances tore through the Revolution’s back line – which was sporting a curious makeup with London Woodberry at center back while Andrew Farrell played out wide – and actually made Brad Knighton work. DC had ample chances to add a third or fourth goal, but were stopped by the New England keeper.
Meanwhile, the Revs lacked precision in the middle, which contributed to their lack of quality chances going forward. As a result, the stats flatter the Revs’ competitiveness in the game. Make no mistake: DC dominated.
Keep Brad Knighton as the starter
Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
Knighton is not broken. Now, Bobby Shuttleworth was fine through the first part of the season, but that’s all he was: fine.
Beginning with the US Open Cup win over Carolina, Knighton has been in top form. He made three saves and came up big on other occasions; the Revolution would have likely lost by more without a sterling performance from their former backup.
One piece still missing
You can sugar coat Kei Kamara all you want (say the Revs have won more with him on the field) but that’s total PR and feel-good mumbo jumbo.
Kamara was acquired to score goals. The feeling, at the time of his blockbuster signing, was that no one else on the Revolution was scoring so the time had arrived to sign a player with a proven track record in front of net.
Except Kamara has had plenty of chances and has still not scored. To make matters worse, he looked especially frustrated with himself and his surroundings against DC. But was it just frustration or is Kamara starting to get jaded? Mentally, not scoring goals is a disaster for any striker.
Beyond that, the Revolution need more help given their current aspirations and injuries. A new playmaker to help Lee Nguyen, a true holding midfielder to work with Scott Caldwell, and perhaps most of all a defender to play next to Jose Goncalves.
Scoring really isn’t the Revolution’s problem, though. They’ve conceded 28 goals (third-most in MLS). Seems as though it’s time to spend some focus in that area of the pitch.
New England Revolution
DC United
