Sunday, September 25, 2016

Back Off The Tracks


Remember when we were back after last week? I was quick on the draw with that one. Im a team guy, I'll own that. But in my defense, after the stretch they had gone on it sure as hell seemed like they had figured it out. And then tonight we got our Revs back. Their true season colors came out tonight.

Similar lineup to the win over Montreal, but with Steve Neumann in for the sick Kelyn Rowe (the broadcast also said he was hospitalized, which I cannot find a source nor any buzz around, so they may have just made that up), and JoGo was out with an ankle, meaning Darrius Barnes got the start next to Woodberry at center back. Those are two massive losses. JoGo was the veteran presence helping Woodberry in the middle of the defense, so without him we knew it would be a dodgy game in that part of the field. And to their credit they did a lot better than I expected, but still not the quality this team needs. And Rowe has been the absolute driving force behind the Revs attack the past few weeks, so to not have him messed with the chemistry and the creativity coming from the midfield. Highlights...

Brad Knighton ladies and gentlemen...

Safe to say he's locked up the #1 keeper spot for at least the rest of the season. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bobby traded after the season if the plan is to try and keep and develop Cropper.

One of the few times we looked good offensively. The broadcast team did a good job later on in the match explaining what the Revs were trying to do in the attacking third, and you can see it a little in that GIF. Basically they had Fagundex and Juan up top with Kei just under them, almost like a False 9 role, and Lee as the 10 beneath Kei.

Lee with a nice effort. Would have been some kind of goal if he found a way to finish it off.

Hmmm, where have I seen that before? Right after that he made another great save on  the rebound opportunity. Brad The Lad (just made that up, nbd).

We got lucky quite a few times this match. Exhibit A.

Ola is the Kamara to score. Darrius, give him a little more space, k? Jesus.

What? I mean it looks like a mugging, or kids playing the Knockout Game.

Luck, Exhibit B.

Luck, Exhibit C.

Iffy call. Don't think it was a penalty, but if they call that then I want consistency. There were a handful of times Revs players got the same contact while in the Crew box and there was no call.

Conversion. Whatever.

Scotty got elbowed in the face right before this. So he was probably a little pissed, especially since there was no call and no stoppage while he was on the ground for a while. I don't think it was deserving of a red. Don't think there was any intent to cause harm, and you can see his eyes are on the ball almost the whole time, especially leading up to the contact. But I also don't think it was a dive from Ola like some fans were insisting. It did spark...

ALMOST FIGHT!!!!!

At the whistle. Now THAT is bush league from Ola. Get that shit out of here dude. Meet me (read: Caldwell) in Temecula.

There was little to no urgency all game from the Revs, which is maddening considering this was really a must-win. As it stands we are one point back of the last playoff spot with one less game to play than Montreal and DC, who are 5 and 6 in the standings. A win would have vaulted us up to 5 to, providing a little breathing room.

This game showed that this team can still relapse into what they've been most of the year: individuals rather than a team. It was Kei's big return to Columbus, and I think that may have mentally thrown him off a little, like he was trying to do too much instead of being the central target man he was last week, like during that first goal against Montreal.

We should be scoring boatloads more goals than we are given our firepower, and we've seen they can make good on that based on recent weeks. I know I'm repeating a lot of stuff form earlier this season, but thats the problem. There's no evolution with this squad.

A loss next week does a few things. First, it realistically eliminates us from playoff contention. We may mathematically still be in it, but really we aren't. We'd be relying on others to secure our spot, and that doesn't seem to work well with this franchise. That would (hopefully) result in the front office waking the fuck up and realizing there are holes in this roster. Heaps probably gets the boot to. I love him, but it's time for a change. He's so slow to make adjustments, both over the course of a season and in-game. Some of his in-game decisions are baffling. Today, for instance, subbing out Diego, who is one of the better offensive players on the team, for Daigo, who is a defensive closer when you get down to it. At the very least sub him on for Kei, who was not doing anything today. But if you're subbing Diego off, bring on someone like Femi, who has offensive firepower and brings a jolt of electricity with him. Baffling, man. Baffling.

Man of the Match
(Game of Thrones has knights in it, cut me some slack)

Brad Knighton. Take a bow my man. Seven saves. SEVEN. That's what happens when I play FIFA on a low setting and get off like 20 shots. And,a s you saw, a few spectacular ones. I said it earlier, but the starting job is his right now, and in my opinion it should be his for the foreseeable future. Absolute rock today, and a stud all season. 

Three games left. Next up is Sporting KC at home on Saturday, October 1st at 730 PM. Say your prayers at night my friends. The night is dark and full of terrors.
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