Saturday, April 30, 2016

Would You Believe Me If I Told You The Revs Drew 2-2 With Orlando?








You have to be kidding me. Heartbreaker. Just... heartbreaker. Thought we finally had a win after all these god damn draws and then the expected happens and we draw. It's truly remarkable. We're going to set the league record for most draws in a season. Chicago set the record in 2014 with 18 ties. We have 7 through 10, and with 24 games left, at clip of 7 ties per every 10 games, we're on pace to have around 16-17 ties in the remaining schedule. Think about that. 24 ties! 24! Jesus Christ. Let's get on with it.

-In case you forgot what happened last time these teams played just two weeks ago

-Roster notes: Charlie and Teal both still out, which means Femi got the start up top. Caldwell back in the XI, Tierney still out so Donnie got his second straight start. Hoping Chris' injury isn't worse than we thought it was.

-Kaka was out for Orlando, meaning we may never see him play at Gillette. Even if he's picked for Brazil's Copa America squad I get the feeling he'll be sitting out turf games (assuming they don't lay the grass over the turf for the tournament)

-JoGo had a nice pullback move real early on that got some nice applause. Not too often you see a center back pull off slick skills

-DIEGOOOOAAAAALLLLL


-Nocerino's night for Orlando summed up:


-During one breakout early on, Diego and Lee looked like they were out to start a great counter, but it got snuffed out. Diego just couldn't quite thread the pass through a defender to Lee to get something going. He needs to start making that pass and we'll see some great counters.

-Revs flurry somehow doesn't go in:


-Effing Molino ties it up at 1's:


-Donnie Smith was good for most of the game, but two things he needs to work on: crossing when he's down the flank (he was actually very good whipping it on from set pieces, not quite Tierney but good enough to pose a threat as opposed to just having Lee), and not getting sucked so far outside on the flank when defending. ON that goal he got pulled out wide and that made JoGo widen out to cover some of that ground, allowing more space in the middle and eventually leaving no one on Molino at the end.

-Lee did some good work at the end of the half showing off some skill and control. And he got more of the sides of his head bleached. Good looks all around.

-End of the first half had me going "Where has THIS team been all along?" Aside from Molino's goal, that was an awesome half of soccer form New England. That's the team we need week in and week out if we want to get back to the postseason and make a run.

-Quick note: The guy who brings the giant yellow and red cards to games was back tonight. Been missing him. If you're ever at the game and there's a card on an opposing player look across from the fort on the team sideline, right near the corner where the opposing fans sit and you'll see him. He's awesome.

-Femi started to wear out a little in the second half. He was great in the first. Good movement off the ball, good speed to get in behind, could work on his strength but overall real solid, especially for a rookie. His stamina will get there considering it was his first start after a bunch of sub appearances. I'm really excited for this kid's future.

-He eventually came off for Juan

-HHHHHWWWWAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!


Juanny Futbol doing the damn thing. Nice ball in from Kelyn to.

-Unfortunately,  Watson was hurt on the play and was subbed off for London Woodberry, who struggled.

-Lee also picked up a slight knock, and Daigo replaced him. You could really see a shift at this point. Without Lee, Orlando seemed to up the attacking intensity and took more control without the threat of our most creative and probably best player on the field.

-With all subs used up, Donnie picked up a slight injury as well. Unreal. He moved up top so he wouldn't be a defensive liability on the flank, moving Kelyn to LB and Juan to LW.

-Didn't really matter because Rivas and his new Odell Beckham hair scored the equalizer:


Ahhhh there are the Revs we know! London gets caught ball-watching *pause* and allows Rivas enough space to get by him and slot it home. The defenders on this team HAVE to get better with their awareness. It's getting ridiculous at this point that we can expect at least one defensive lapse per game.

-There was a flurry at the start of stoppage time that we just couldn't put home, and then at the death, Juan...


So god damn close! Sublime cross in from JoGo though. Just cant seem to get over the hump, man. It's torturous.

-Overall, a good game for neutral viewers, while Revs and Lions fans were having heart attacks. Very physical too, showcased by a lot of players falling to the turf at the final whistle. Pure exhaustion.

Man of the Match
While Diego had a goal, and Juan had a goal and a real good chance at the end, one didn't do enough (Diego) and one was;t on the field long enough (Juan) to get it this game. So I'm going with...
Lee had 2 assists on the night and created a lot of good chances. He showed off his skill and control, setting the tempo for the Revs attack. Like I said earlier, once he came off Orlando played a lot better, as if they weren't afraid of anyone else on the field wearing blue. That's having an impact on a game. If everyone played as good as Nguyen, we'd have a lot more wins, that's for sure. 

Next Sunday, May 8, we're at the StubHub Center to take on the LA Galaxy. 330 PM eastern start on ESPN, so as always, let's hope we put on a  good show for the national audience, but prepare for the worst. I have a feeling this game won't end in a tie, either a narrow win or a crushing loss to the tune of like 3-0. Until then, keep it hyphy. 

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