By way of proving that game-time commentary isn’t always useless – though, for the record, I’ve liked Dave Johnson since he was calling A-League games back in the 1990s – the Johnson/Rongen (as in Thomas) duo did well to contextualize this game for the New England Revolution. Now in the middle of a stretch with more games at home than away, New England sits on a cache of games-in-hand they could use to haul themselves over and into the playoff window. Trick is, they have to win these games to make that cache come good. And so the bird stays in the bush.

Last night’s 2-1 loss at home to the LA Galaxy calls to mind the old phrase about birds in hand and birds in the bush. New England hardly looked the home team out there and, in spite of that late rush in the game as well as the late date in the season, they appear a little uncertain as to how to attack. Maybe some credit for that belongs with LA’s defense – you make the call there, as you see it – but several pieces of the Revolution attack just don’t seem to fit together.

The temptation to point at New England’s chronic injury problems creeps in, but it’s worth noting that LA isn’t running their first choices at forward either – which is to say, you’re not likely to ever hear that big, booming stadium promo voice barking “Kirovski….Gordon….the two horsemen of the Defensive Apocalypse.” What I’d argue we’re looking at is one team figuring out how to overcome their gaps (LA), while the other, even if unconsciously, continues mourning absent players (see, Twellman, Taylor). LA played their wide guys – Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis – so far up the field that they felt a little like bonus forwards, often available for big, cross-field passes that back-doored the New England defense - and that was part of LA simply sending more players forward in general (so...maybe that was it?). Lewis, especially, curled in several clean crosses that, frankly, puzzled Matt Reis…one of them decisively so (LA’s second and winning goal).

New England did respond, especially late when they managed to stretch LA’s defense in the attacking third, but – and this is telling – they attacked the space more frenetically than well; the ball caromed in and out, forward and back, and the whole thing looked like a hell of a lot of effort. They brought that scramble together best in the approach that set up their PK – that Steve Ralston duly scored – but the overall impression was like scrambling over a wall; their struggles in the attack show in the standings. They would have done well to take LA’s approach, which came closer to eyeing the wall and deciding to go around it. In a big picture sense, LA simply looks more comfortable out there, especially moving the ball around and finding/creating openings….it’s tempting to just call LA a good team.

The word “athleticism” kept cropping up with New England and maybe that’s the key to all this. Outside the fairly polished core of Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, and Jeff Larentowicz (though perhaps this will be the one and only time “Larentowicz” will share the same sentence with the word “polished”) New England looks confined to that “athletic” tag – and the hints of youth that adhere to it. The best example comes with New England’s defense, which looks good one-on-one, but opens up something aggravating in terms of positioning and keeping track of players (see notes above about Donovan and Lewis). All in all, New England’s in this sort of weird space where they have key players aging out of their careers in the mix with a bunch of up-and-coming players needing to grow into the professional game. Another cliché – ships passing in the night – comes to mind here.

Right. That’s all the narrative I have, but do want to return to one point mentioned above: sure, LA’s defense deserves some credit – especially for the way their offside trap stalled multiple, if hopeful, Revolution attacks. That same defense, however, was pretty dire when it came to letting the ball drop inside the area during those set-piece scrums. In other words, I’m more inclined to fault New England’s attack than to credit LA’s defense.

A couple bullets
- Nice goal, Mr. Donovan. Worth catching on the highlights, definitely.
- Alan Gordon demonstrates the difference between a post-up player and an actual post; shockingly immobile that one, but he came in handy as a barrier to Matt Reis catching Lewis’ cross on LA’s second. Still, watching him run in the open field? Shudder…
- Funny tackle by Kenny Mansally on David Beckham…and, yes, only now did I type Beckham’s name.
- Of all New England’s frenetic, athletic players, I’d rate Sainey Nyassi and Kheli Dube highest. And Nyassi edges him here.
- Getting back to Mansally, he needs to play faster. And cleaner. The contrast between how effectively Kevin Alston got forward during the first half on New England’s right versus Mansally on New England’s left really jumped out.