The Revs have been shut out 5 times this year. Jones didn't play in 4 of them, and only played 45 minutes in the other (first game back after his surgery).
I thought Lee looked a lot better but he still cost us points with that stupid stupid foul. He loses out on a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, gets frustrated, and so hacks down Johnson in a dangerous position. His last two games, he's made stupid head-case type decisions that have cost us points. I think Heaps needs to think about starting him on the bench and then giving him 30 minutes, not necessarily because of his form, but just so that his frustration level doesn't build up to the point where he makes that kind of decision. Teal looked great but I have no idea what his problem was in the first ten minutes. I was worried he'd get sent off. Heaps switched sides to get him away from Villafana and that seemed to call him down.
This game looked like it was going to get ugly from the start. We looked lost out there for the first 15 or so, then seemed to settle down. But the subs, once again, were questionable. I just didn't get the Alston/Teal sub. Made absolutely no sense. I joked a few weeks ago about the summer doldrums, and it looks like they've started. Man, we need to beat Chicago.
Teal/Alston sub makes sense to me. Portland had just put in Rodney Wallace, meaning they were going to attack the flanks more heavily, and Teal already had a yellow card. The other subs also made sense. Davies had been ineffective all game, he couldn't really physically compete with Treebeard and Ridgewell. Okoli's much larger and could hopefully hold up the ball better. And Dorman was tiring.
I made this comparison after the SKC game, here is the update: 2014 (W-L-T) 0-2-o (3/8 - 3/15) 7-1-2 (3/22 - 5/24) 0-8-0 (5/31 - 7/26) 2015 0-2-0 (3/8 - 3/15) 5-0-4 (3/21 - 5/16) 0-2-2 (5/20 - ) and the Revs have only 3 home games in June and July combined.
The other subs made sense, but not this one. We've not seen anything good from Alston for a while unfortunately. Of course, we have so little depth at defense (Thanks Burns!) so I guess it was little choice for Heaps. Of course, you could have taken out Bunbury for Diego ... I didn't mind Teal coming off, because you're right about Wallace and the yellow. I just didn't get the Alston move.
The Alston sub was problematic, because he's such a one-dimensional player. He's an offensive black hole (can't cross, can't shoot, doesn't have any playmaking vision), so by putting him in you're not getting any production from an entire side of the field. Defensively, he's historically been exceptional at marking the opposing midfielder out of the game. However, once the play gets into the Revs' 18 he's a huge liability because he never wins aerial battles and gets lost on odd-man offensive attacks (constantly ball-watching and/or losing his mark). I say this as a guy with a signed Kevin Alston bobblehead on his desk, but he's not a capable MLS defender in 2015 - offenses have evolved enough in the league that he can't keep up, and he inhibits attacking play.
I too would have preferred to put in Diego over Alston. If we do give up a goal, Diego will be better at getting it back than Alston, and if it remains tied, Diego's presence forces Portland's fullback to hang back.
I like Kevin. Always thought he was a decent player with good speed. However, the last couple of games I have noticed a big drop-off in performance - or at least my expectations of what his performance should look like! Which makes you wonder; first in 2013 he battles leukemia and wins. Then the games he gets to play when he comes back, he starts pulling hamstrings on a regular basis. Over the last two years he hasn't gotten much of a chance to play on a regular basis. Which leads to the questions, is he done? Or should the Revs send him to Rochester to get some consistent playing time, to see if he can get back to his old form? I know with our over abundance of defenders the second question is a little hard to deal with at this time.
Yes, totally agree on both points. I thought Nguyen looked a lot better in this game than he has probably all season, but then he caps it off with a dumb and unnecessary foul - which burns us. And, agree about Bunbury. For an easy-going, friendly guy, he seemed be in a really nasty mood. After the switch, he made some really nice sideline plays, but I kept wondering why Bunbury (and the Revs) were getting squeezed so tight to the sideline that there was no margin for a less-than-perfect touch. I thought as a collective, they had no first touch at all starting off the game - and it was killing them with turnovers in bad places. Even those typically most reliable (Caldwell) seem to be in the same boat. It was as if the bus was late and they missed warmups. Once they settled down, they got into their game and pretty much owned the 1st half (half-time possession numbers back that up). I could see what he was going for, but the subs just didn't provide it. By bringing in Alston, he gets Tierney forward where he could be more involved in the attack and get some crosses in. Okoli has been better and been a good, physical presence, able to hold the ball up, in previous stints. In this one, he just look rusty and out-of-sync. Probably just too long between significant appearances to be sharp. And, with Daigo, I think Heaps is desperate to get him up to game-speed, especially with Jones out for what looks like an extended period. I think he was always going to go in and get some minutes to continue his progression back. This game, more than any other this year, really brought home how limited Heaps' bench options are. Just look at who Portland was able to bring in and turn a disappointing scoreless draw into a big win? Heaps doesn't have anyone like that. And, the other thing that really concerns me - it seems like all season we really tire down the stretch in road games. Going to Portland is a tough trip, but other teams seem to manage it better.
Diego scores a wicked a free kick, and his reward is 90 minutes on the bench in a game where he would have at least put some pressure on Portlands outside backs. Instead we put in Alston, and invite wave after wave of attack.
Funny how some people here thought the Revs should have protected Patrick Mullins instead of Kevin Alston in the expansion draft. Mullins is tied for the team lead in goals (3) for NYCFC, including coming off the bench to score the the game winner last Saturday. Good thing Heaps and Burns are the professionals and therefore automatically know better than us lowly fans...
Hey, I'm comfortable with the mediocrity. I mean, the team's not _bad_, right? So the crew just isn't getting it done... Who needs the stress of getting to MLS cup just to have it snatched away? NE has done that and let me tell you I can't take anymore. I'm just content with putting in a workman like effort and being happy that we are in danger of winning any given game.