This is spot on to me. The fact Alston was sucked in so far, missed the header, leaving his guy open at the back post and Agudelo was the one defending, says a lot. The revs lost defensive shape yesterday as the game wore on and our coaching staff was unwilling or unable to correct it. Adding Alston and then Neumann simply made things worse given Alston's penchant for losing concentration and Neumann's youthful naivety. Those subs opened the door for DC to take advantage, which they did. Heaps is a walking tactical blunder waiting to happen.
Somewhere about 30 minutes in, and us winning, you could just see them start to slow down and put it into cruse control. While we were playing, we looked the better team but players cannot afford to coast just because it was hot. Maybe if we were up 3-0 a little coasting would be OK but at 1-0, it's too dangerous. I think Heaps was trying to breath some life back into the team with his subs but a game like this was not the place to roll Newmann out and I have lost all faith in Alston. Lots of people say Noumann needs minutes... not in a 1-0 game where we had the lead and a chance to move very close to top of the group. He does not play like a #4 draft pick and should be more useful by now
If you ask the revs, the 94 degree heat must have only affected them. In a way, harsh weather conditions are a great equalizer where results come down to grit, hustle and tactical competence. The revs lost the second half because they showed a distinct lack of all 3, not because DC was a better team. In fact, DC being within spitting distance of the SS is a joke really. A better coached team less prone to shutting down in the second half beats them.
You can't just make the case that Heaps' subs were blunders, without suggesting what he should have done instead. From the postgame comments, it was pretty clear that he had to make some changes for Dorman and Woodbury, so not subbing them wasn't really an option. I'd have rather seen Kobayashi and Hall, but I think Heaps really has pretty limited options for defensive subs - and that's really hurting us in trying to protect leads in 2nd halves. For whatever reason, Heaps seems to think as though Alston is the same player he used to be, when all the evidence is that he is not right now. Hopefully Heaps has become convinced now. And, I think they desperately need Neumann to provide some minutes now, but he's tentative and mistake-prone because he's not playing regularly - not because he's a bad player. Still, Heaps has seemingly invested minutes in getting Daigo back up to game speed and now that he has, why did he suddenly change course and go with the much less experienced Neumann instead? In that kind of heat, a team has to pace itself. So, what's the difference between pacing and coasting? In fact, I think they struggle late at times because they haven't paced themselves well. I think they usually go out hard to get a lead and create chances, but it really seems to burn them when they don't cash in more than one of those chances. Almost as if opponents play rope-a-dope with them. All the rest in the world is not going to prevent the effects of mid-90's heat when you're not acclimated to it.
And now we've come full circle again. If only we got a couple of semi-useful MLS level players in the off-season. Not gajillion-dollar DPs, just guys who can play on a semi-regular basis at this level who are better than the bottom end of the roster. Players who would make it too crowded for guys like Neumann, so he gets sent to Rochester to get regular playing time.
We agree on the bold. Alston has been a lost cause all year, it shouldn't be a news flash that he's not your first option off the bench. You bring in Daigo for Dorman to stabilize the midfield and Hall for Woodberry. Not difficult for amateur fans to see but apparently is for the "pros". The defensive depth is a different problem than the game day decision. Again, the professionals in our FO are trying real hard to solve that. But no excuses for Sunday's loss against the first place team in your division. Heaps had the depth he needed to see out this game and made the wrong choices. That's a load of crap. Both teams had to play in the heat and humidity. DC dealt with it better but they were assisted by poor sub decisions. Besides, both teams played midweek and all things being equal a bus trip to Cambridge is a lot closer than DC to Pittsburgh.
The only positive takeaways from the game are individual performances: Teal and Charlie continued really solid play, and MVLee looks like he's coming back into form.
I think we pretty much all agreed on that a long time ago. I think we've seen a series of coaches here be very "veteran"-biased. And that because they've seen first-hand that when you stick with a guy who has played well for you in the past, when he's struggling, there are usually two positive results: one, the player returns to form, and, two, all the players develop the sense that the coach has faith and confidence in them and appreciates their value. Sometimes that leads to some blind faith or maybe sticking with a player longer than they should, but fairly often, that faith is rewarded. DC lives and trains in that heat - the Revs don't (until later in the year). That's why they dealt with it better. Just like RSL and Colorado will deal with altitude better when they play at home.
Well, I went to the game, and was extremely disappointed in the late subs. Neither Alston or Neumann is a game changer, either to lock down a defense or to boost an offense. That is the seventh lead we have given up in the last few months! GRRR!
The inability to live with a lead is really disturbing. The number of games we have lost after scoring first is just an amazingly bad statistic. Team chemistry/mentality comes from the players, but it's the coach who sets the tone.