Pre/In/Post: Columbus @ Revs, 6/16

WTF is up with this broadcast? It's getting worse. It's like listening to the game on the radio.

 

This keeps happening. We need a d-mid in there. Shalrie needs to stay back or Heaps need to put someone in there who will.

 

Anybody watching this on Comcast, rather than MLS Live? Is the the broadcast as effed up there as it is on MLS Live?

 

The broadcast is fine on MLS live.

 

Bizarre... How can I be getting a different feed through MLS Live? Half the time the camera is panning lazily over the crowd, or the grass, while the the action is taking place off camera. For example, on Cardenas's shot on goal, none of that sequence was shown at all. It looks like the camera operators and the guys in the truck are all stoned out of their gourds.

 

Like I said, we have to get past this keeper. He is making their defense look good and they aren't. There are at least two goals in this game, I just hope we get both of them. The holes left by Bully and marking mistakes (and positioning) by Big Mac are going to cost us if someone doesn't cover for them.

 

Uhhh...what?

 

Rowe's been lifting mad weights

 

I switched from my laptop to the PC midway through the second half, and that solved much of the problem. Still bizarre. Looked like I was getting a totally different feed in the first half -- weird shots of the crowd, or the grass, half a minute's focus on one cheerleader's face while play was ongoing... I can't account for it it at all.

All I can tell is that in that alternate universe, the Revs weren't winning there either.

 

Damn, how much did you pay for your laptop? Is the creation of wormholes a standard feature?

 

Well, that was a largely boring game. With his shot off the under side of the crossbar, Sene came closest to scoring, but he makes more dumb moves than anyone else on the field: dribbling into crowds, slowing down breaks, lazing back from offsides positions. I thought the referee should have issued more yellow cards to the yellow football team for their persistent takedowns of Nguyen. Moreno got off to a bad start with the referee and was lucky not to have been sent off for mixing it up after he took down their goalie. I was glad Heaps took him off at halftime. It was disappointing that the Revs couldn't pull three points out of this.

 

I thought the Revo were good for a goal in this game, and the 3 points.
But, it is what it is. A 0-0 draw between 2 mediocre teams.

 

Neither team seemed confident on what they wanted to do in the final third. I thought Revs created better chances, but not by much.

Shalrie seemed in discomfort with a knee injury of some type and he seemed to limit his running in the second half. Left the field immediately after the game which i have not seen him do before. Here's hoping it isn't anything serious.

Is Rowe gaining weight???? He is getting pudgy which doesn't bode well. In general the entire team seemed to run out of gas in the second half.

I thought Alston had an excellent game defending today. Really shut off penetration on his side.

 

Just a poor match from both teams. I can remember two good chances, and a few half chances. Too much hesitation and not enough greed on offense. No clue why Heaps brought Brettschneider on as the attacking sub. And he didn't use his 3rd sub to find a late goal? Not sure if the idea was to take a point, but there seemed to be little desire to get the late goal. Once again we played through the middle with the occasional wide cross which were easily taken care of by the Crew CBs. Would have liked to see some speed up front to stretch the D, but instead we fell into the trap of playing cross after cross with little to no affect. Tierney and Alston can not be expected to create our offense. Neither is that good or consistent to focus an offensive attack.

 

That was one of the least entertaining Rev games I've watched in recent memory. I commented to my son 30 minutes in that both teams looked stoned. The pass completion rate from the forwards and mids not named Nguyen was about 15%. Did Sene complete a pass all night? And what's with all the stupid beach soccer scoop passes, and flicks to nowhere? If either Cardenas or Feilhaber can hit an open net, we win. I'm frustrated. File this one under "waste of 2 hours."

Moreno injured his ankle.

 

I think a running problem with this team is they don't have the creativity to break a bunker. It happened in the NYRB game vs. an inexperienced defense and it happened tonight vs. a similarly inexperienced Crew defense. Columbus bunkered basically the entire game, got enough chances where they should have scored maybe one and didn't.

I knew this was going 0-0 as soon as Brettschneider came on for Moreno. He's totally useless against a bunkering defense, and a major managerial mistake by Heaps. Once Brettschneider was on and not contributing, he had no other room to make a 3rd attacking sub late. Who comes off? Joseph? (will never happen) Rowe? Feilhaber? Nguyen? Brettschneider and admit the mistake, killing his morale? Take a defender off and switch to a 3-5-2 opening the Revs up even more to a Crew counter? That one sub choice cost us 3 points, because it led Heaps to leave his one potential bunker-busting sub, Fagundez, on the bench.

We still got three golden chances though - Benny missing an open net, Moreno not pulling the trigger on a 1-on-1, and Cardenas hitting a wide open shot more or less at the keeper. Must be tough for Benny, I've counted at least 4-5 potential extra assists he'd have this season if the forward had converted a somewhat easy chance (two in this case tonight).

Not getting a win here makes 3 points on the road vs. TFC almost necessary for their playoff chances, and with a not-as-bad-as-their record team (unlike Philly who are truly, laughably awful) getting the potential "manager change boost" at home, it's going to be a tough get.

 

Noticed he was wearing turf shoes and not cleats.

 

He's done this before in the past.

 

Agree it was disappointing. Moreno isn't looking like the answer up front. And Rowe looked like a rookie.

On the positive side, it's nice when the other team's MOTM is their goalkeeper.

Another positive note: Columbus isn't exactly a "mediocre" team. Since the beginning of May, they have been one of the top teams -- 3 wins and two ties before last night, with a win over seattle (away) and a stingy defense that gave up a total of 1 goal in their last three away matches.

 

Unfortunately, we were not playing the "on the year" team -- we were playing the hot team that has found its stride.

Again, not nitpicking -- I was disappointed last night, but trying to look at everything in context, I'm still pretty excited, and hopeful, about what Heaps has going.