Saturday, May 14, 2016

THE REVS WIN! THE REVS WIN! 2-0 OVER CHICAGO!

OH ITS LIT FAM! THE REVOLUTION WON A SOCCER GAME! MIRACLES HAPPEN! SOMEBODY CUE THE MUSIC!!!
(That's my decision for our victory music this season, deal with it haters)

Perfect slump buster scenario: at home to start a three-game home, and against Chicago who is coming off a loss Wednesday across the continent and in a different country (Canada). A Chicago side that is last in the league. And your new firepower debuting. I mean what a sight this is...


And they delivered! I can't believe it, I was so accustomed to draws and bad losses, I forgot what a win feels like. And this one is non (aka less) controversial fashion! Lets get it going...

-Lineup Notes: Bizarro World Lineup (again). Kei Kamara gets his first start up top after just one training session. Juan out to the right wing, Kelyn Rowe to right back. JoGo out, so Watson slides next to Farrell. London Woodberry takes the left back spot. Charlie Davies, Teal Bunbury, Donnie Smith, Chris Tierney and JoGo all out with injuries. And Lee Nguyen gets the captain's armband for the first time in his Revs career.

-Smoother transition than some would have thought for Kamara since the Revs, like Columbus, use the lone striker system. That familiarity with the role showed through his movement. Definitely a better situation than having to change the formation entirely. His runs on the break were crisp, especially when going down the right when Juan could serve him a through ball. 

-I was nervous about our defense, I mean even more than I already was, considering it was anything but full strength. Farrell is talented but is guaranteed a mental lapse and mistake per game. Watson forced to play center back again, and he's a really streaky player who is currently on a bit of a down streak. London Woodberry gets exploited pretty much every time he's on the field. And a guy who's playing right back for the first time ever in Kelyn Rowe. I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it was just because it was Chicago, but London didn't look awful, Farrell looked like the player we know he can be 24/7, Watson may be clawing himself out of his slump, and Rowe did not play like a guy who had never been a right back before. A solid effort from a less than ideal back line.

-Playing Rowe on the right was a good tactical move by Heaps. Even though London's natural position is right back, I think we can all agree Rowe is more talented and has a better cross. Putting Kelyn in the position to bomb up the field and put balls into the box for someone with good aerial ability like Kei Kamara with his good foot takes priority. Not to mention putting him on the same side as Andrew Farrell, the most experienced center back available for the Revs right now. He may have a mental lapse here and there throughout the game, but you can't say he doesn't know what he's doing back there. Letting him direct Kelyn a little and cover him while he moves up the flank was big for making Rowe feel more comfortable in a position he had no experience with. Obviously he wasn't totally comfortable there, but it could have been worse.

-Chicago's counter looked fast and dangerous early, they just couldn't string the last pass together. Gilberto got free early on but the pass was too long and went right to Bobby.

-23rd minute Lee scores:
Just a stunner. Beautifully worked set piece, fantastic movement off the ball and Lee on the first touch just curls it home. I'm sure a lot of people had their money on Kei scoring first, especially considering the Revs were trying to feed him early and often. But the (temporary) captain shows us why he's one of the best America has to offer.

Another angle...
-Rest of the first half had a few Revs chances, but they didn't really have much of a shot to convert them. Chicago couldn't do much, ad overtime it looked like they could start something, they either misfired on a pass or had the attack snuffed out by the Revs defense. Credit to Andrew Farrell who was stout back there, and laid out on one occasion to keep the ball off Gilberto.

-Revs got a little lucky in terms of cards. Woodberry got a yellow in the second half, and Offie got one in the first. Either of them could have been sent off in the 61st minute when they converged on David Accam, and really one of them (probably Koffie) should have been. Koffie got subbed off soon after, considering he was really on pace for a second yellow. He also needs to go five games without another yellow or else he gets a ban due to accumulation. Him getting ONE yellow in five games may be the lock of the century.

-72nd minute=FEMI TIME! He came on for Fagundez, and right off the bat was his usual Femi self. The energy this kid brings is so awesome to see. Diego made a few nice moves but nothing of note. Femi just brings something different. His attacking mentality and confidence for someone so young and a low draft pick who didn't get any time in preseason due to injury has been a revelation.

-Oh yeah, 84th minute...

FEMI! IT'S LIT! First goal for the rookie. Beauty of a chip from and Femi buries the header to seal it. So happy for him, he got robbed a few weeks back on that own goal call. Finally he gets rewarded for the work he puts in.

-Sambinha got his first action right after, coming in for Juan, so Kelyn moved up to the wing, Watson to left back, and the former Sporting Lisbon man went to central defense. Not enough time to actually make an impression, but hey, at least he'll go into the books as actually playing. Doesn't hurt.

I was impressed by Kei Kamara's debut. A full 90 for him after a whirlwind week. Obviously he's only been a Revolution player for two days and has just one training session under his belt, but the chemistry he already has with players like Lee and Juan is a very good sign. I mean him and Lee looked like lifelong teammates out there. The more time he gets to gel with the team and learn what Heaps wants him to do, the better he'll be, which is scary to think about considering he was already very good in his first match for the team. Like I said above, he made some real nice runs on the break already, and he got some looks at goal, including a bike attempt that would have been quite the way to open his account in New England.

I'm excited to see what a fully healthy attacking battery will look like. Having Davies or Teal or Juan or Femi as a change of pace off the bench, the speed and shiftiness against Kei's aerial ability and strength. Having that many attacking players may not be ideal in terms of getting everyone minutes, but having two or three of them on the bench and Kei starting means more guys opponents have to scout, versus knowing if Kei comes off, so-and-so is definitely on and they know how to stop them. The variety of attacking options and small nuances in their individual games could be deadly.

This looked like a completely different team. They played with more creativity, confidence and swagger than I have seen to this point in the season. I don't think it was all because of Kamara, but he must have played some sort of role in the mindset of the Revs. It was like night and day comparing last week, or any other week, to this game. It got a little too cute at time; one pass too many, an extra touch when it wasn't needed. But for the most part, fantastic effort from the boys. They finally kept their foot on the gas instead of letting another team back into the game, like we've seen before this year. They need to string to gather a few more games like this, and ideally it would be win the next two at home and the one after those away, but if they do I won't hesitate to officially declare them back.

Man of the Match
Seems fitting given the outcome...
Lee Nguyen, man. He was always creative, but Kei Kamara will bring out the best of him. Beauty of a goal to start things off, worked some good one-twos with Kei and his vision was on point. As much as I want him as fresh as possible this season, He needs to play in Copa America this summer. It would be criminal for Jurgen to not pick him if he's healthy. He brings what the national team needs; that creativity and, as Kyle Maritno put it in pregame, "magic".

Home against Dallas next Saturday at 730. Let's keep it rolling and go on a nice run to get back in the top half of the Eastern Conference. Summer Slump may have come early, meaning plenty of sunshine and good games ahead. Pipe it up. Tailgate Szn is here.
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