Lee Nguyen equalized for the New England Revolution against the Portland Timbers on Sunday. Photo/Kari Heistad
It wasn’t pretty or a good watch, but the New England Revolution performed well enough to escape Providence Park with a 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers on Sunday night.
Lee Nguyen equalized with his third goal of the season in the 85th minute, cancelling out a wonder strike by Portland’s Diego Valeri early in the first half.
This is the first positive result New England have achieved in Portland; Nguyen’s strike was also the first-ever Revolution goal in Portland.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
- Josh Smith performed adequately at center back
Revolution rookie Josh Smith made his MLS debut at center back on Sunday, slotting into the back line next to Antonio Mlinar Delamea. While Smith’s passing out of the back looked lackluster at times, his marking and ability to clear was spot on. He had the tough task of marking Fernando Adi—arguably the hottest scorer in Major League Soccer—and did that without too much trouble in spite of playing in a difficult road environment. Smith left the game just before second half stoppage time due to a leg cramp. Assuming the injury won’t keep him out long term, Smith stands to be in direct competition with Benjamin Angoua for a spot in the starting XI.
- Major error dooms Revolution back line again
Nice finish by Valeri on Portland’s goal, but it doesn’t happen without a mistake by Chris Tierney. A veteran player like Tierney should know better than to head a ball back toward the top of the box—especially when time is on his side. But there’s a trend growing here that goes beyond Tierney: the Revolution have made a major defensive error in each of their first four games this season. Those lapses have already cost the team points and each player, on an individual level, needs to be better.
- An uninspiring attack gets bailed out
Don’t let the statistics fool you: the Revolution may have had 13 shots, but most were harmless and the team’s attack was hardly creative or consistent. The attacking trio of Kei Kamara, Juan Agudelo, and Lee Nguyen requires more tactical fine-tuning. All three were static on the pitch for too long on Sunday night. On occasion they all look like strangers, running into one another and struggling to integrate one another in the attack. Nice finish by Nguyen for the equalizer, but aside from that one play, the Revolution’s attack was lackluster.
