Still a little breathless. • I thought after the first 25 minutes I was going to have to give DCU credit for managing the game perfectly. They let Revolution pass the ball around without allowing any serious chances. No thuggery. Gradually, the game got chippier and chippier. By the 37', with Korb's yellow the gloves were off. • Mullins had seemed a little off for the first 20' - a little slow to anticipate. By the second half, he was on. The first goal was class - a goal of the month candidate. • Nguyen and Daigo seemed a little tired. JoGo was rusty. I know Espindola's a good player, but he beat Jogo on that second goal. The subs were great. Neumann with the goal line clearance! • That may have been the best game I have ever seen AJ Soares play. I mean ever. Tierney was fine, but Fagundez was working like a beast defensively, and making things easier for him. Bunbury was pressing higher, and leaving Farrell more exposed, but Farrell was just fine. • the Nguyen-Mullins-Fagundez-Bunbury chemistry is impressive. IMO, time to incorporate Rowe. • All in all, I thought DCU played quite well, but they were much more dangerous when Espindola came on. If Rolfe had played, things might have been different. • The talking point was EJ's red. From where I was sitting, I couldn't see anything. Watching on TV after I got home, I could see what the ref was reacting to. I had the sense that Johnson felt the red mist come down, and started to kick Rowe, but was able to put the brakes on before he made full contact. The ref saw the momentary intent, if not the attempt to restrain himself.
Not sure about the wisdom of subs 2 and 3 for us. We were in control of the game then Heaps pulls our best player (Lee) followed by Diego, who puts in a tremendous amount of two way play, and then we're fighting for our lives to hold the win. That move almost cost us 2 points. Other than that we looked good on attack
just finished watching the game and a couple of comments: 1. Andy Dorman is quietly having an All-star year. I think right now, if they Revs lose him that could be trouble 2. Diego looked like he had his wheaties before the game. 3. Again Heaps did a good job with his subs 4. Mullins has some pretty damn hold up play and puts himself into good positions 5. Bundury had a pretty good game with the exception of the stupid card 6. Not a fan of Eddie Johnson but I feel he got screwed on that Red.
i loved those subs. I think Heaps saw the game as being very chippy and he pulled two of his most important players. I think Lee looked a bit off tonight, maybe tired a bit
Just saw a replay of the red. Wow, horrendous call. When even Feldman says he's surprised, you know it's a bad call. But watching Olsen freak out ... is worth it. Fun game. Loved the pouring rain. "Always win when it's raining." Good finishes by both Mullins and Diego. Only 13,589 last night in attendance.
Subs last might provided: * fresh legs in the center *decrease in mileage for several key pieces; Ngyuen, Fagundez, Kobayashi, Dorman not playing 90 every week is a positive for later in the season. * meaningful minutes for young players (Neumann and Caldwell), keeping them game ready * a way to work injured players back in (Rowe) * last night Neumann also earned two points with his goal line clearance in stoppage time On Mullins: he is not as slow as I thought -- he's not a speed merchant, but he is at least as fast as the lumbering backs (Boswell) he is matched against. He is also a really hard worker who is constantly pressuring the defense. He's got a bit of attitude, which is a really good trait for a striker. And as Heaps points out, Mulllins has unteachable instinct for getting to the right place at the right time. He is legit and if he stays healthy he will have a long successful career. Once again, it is amazing he fell to #11 on draft day, and kudos to Heaps/Burn/whomever for spending the late first round pick to move up from 12 to 11. A small move that looked odd at the time, but its paying huge dividends. On draft success: great move making Bunbury the first round 2015 pick. Assuming the spot Revs gave up to get him will be a late first round pick, he is a steal, and the last drafts 2013, 14, 15 have now yielded Rowe, Farrell, Mullins, Neumann. Someone is doing a really good job of player assessment. Finally, on the international signing: I don't believe the Robinho rumor at all. Why would Heaps want to add an expensive, aging, oft-injured attacker? I wouldn't want to be the one to tell Mullins, Bunbury, and the rest of the young core that "we've just signed a guy who will make more money than the rest of the you guys put together, and when he isn't injured you'll have to sit." Also wouldn't want to tell an aging, oft-injured star that "BTW, we play a lone striker and you'll be expected to hold up the ball while being mugged by a big center back, because mugging strikers is perfectly legal in our league. Unless we play you out wide, in which case you'll be expected to work like a madman in the defensive end." The roster spot(s) (assuming Bengtsen leaves after WC) and unused money would be much better spent on a young attacker and a young DM with a whole lot of potential -- adding to the mix some more guys who compete for playing time and provide cover for Dorman and who can become part of the core, long-term. Absolutely no need to add an older, established star. I think it is more likely they are pursuing Agudelo or the Central American DM than someone like Robinho Post finally: remember Heaps saying they might replace Agudelo by committee? Mullins and Bunbury are a pretty good committee.
No issue with it from me. Here's the reason the referee gave for the card: Pool Reporter Question to Referees “Why did you decide to show a red card to Eddie Johnson (D.C. #7) in the 82nd minute?” Written Response from Referees “Eddie Johnson was issued a red card for violent conduct for kicking at an opponent while on the ground, while (the ball) was not within playing distance.”
The biggest news to me from this game was just how fast Teal actually is. I had no idea. He ran past his marker like he was standing still a couple times...
So, the Fort almost without missing a beat singing through the DC goal and then continuing "New England" until we got the lead back was brilliant and a top-five Fort moment for me. An act of faith and will. I believe that we will win! A few times this game Farrell and other players actually looked back toward the fort during certain chants. Oh yeah, and a certain athlete giving a certain ball kid some sound tactical advice after we got the lead was worth the price of admission...#whywesitwherewedo PS: oh sage ones, how do I become a member like my 2-days-my-senior neighbor owain up above and lose this new member thing...do I have to post lots of I like to see my brilliant thoughts in black and white stuff all the time, or can I just send in some box tops or something?
That was amazingly fun. I think we did that chant for about 15 minutes. I was told that there's a shot on TV with myself, and two other Riders, all with our backs to the game, trying to keep that chant going. So much fun. I believe it's just based on number of posts.
The FORT says it all. That's Five in a Row for the #NERevs and Fortress Foxborough stays undefeated at… http://t.co/DaOfo1fZYG— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) May 25, 2014 Food for thought: Does The Fort ever stop singing? Atmosphere was electric tonight.— Patrick Mullins (@pmullins14) May 25, 2014
Just finished reading the DC Board re the game. There is a lot of the usual homer stuff but one thing stood out--their perception that this Rev team is playing overly aggressive soccer. I need to hear some non-homer input from those of you with better eyes and a better understanding of the fine points of the game than mine. Question: I know last year this team seemed to get man-handled a lot and it cost us points. Has Jay coached this bunch where they are now playing the normal MLS physical game?
Honestly, I think they play a bit chippy at times. I don't think it's thuggish behavior (as proven by 20 yellow cards and 1 red), but I think they're getting a bit of a kick at the shins in occasionally.
I agree that the Revs have a little more bite than the last couple of years though I don't know that they're up to MLS median yet. Mullin, Bunbury and Dorman represent significant physical upgrades from Bengston, Sene and Caldwell. Nguyen has a low center of gravity and knows how to use his body both to shield the ball and shield someone off the ball. Diego is paying more attention to his defensive responsibilities this year and that can play out with him using his quickness to harass the opponent's feet. OTOH, any team that bred and then celebrated the ABMOD (only one of a long list of hacks) has to be taken with a grain of salt. Much of their teeth gnashing seems to be associated with memories of Heaps and SJ dismantling them in the days of innocent Ben Olsen.
Oh, and they have a special place of hatred for Matt Reis (the Alecko Eskandarian concussion, I believe it was). I remember a few of their fans actually didn't blame Reis, said what some here had said, he did what a goalie is taught to protect himself in that situation. Didn't matter to the vast majority.
In the MLS history books there have been a number of players who fall under that catagory. One was our very own Joey Franchino
A couple things. First, as far as this season goes, DCU and Revs are about identical in fouls committed. Both are in the middle of the pack. In the game itself, Revs had one more foul. Of course DCU had one more yellow and red card. In the previous match, the one in which Neal should have been sent off, DCU outfouled the Revs 15-13, and there was no complaining from the DCU camp. Since the history buffs are dredging up Franchino, let me throw out some facts. DCU has led the league in fouls committed 6 times, far more than any other team, and has been the leader in fouls committed for one third of the league's existence. In terms of individuals, the ABMOD is 9th all-time, but his teammate Carey Talley is 6th, and Davy Arnaud, the only player of any significance in this list who was involved last weekend, is 13th all-time, in fouls committed. Ben Olsen is 11th. In case you missed it, that's in the history of the league.
You have to be a die-hard fan to watch the game saturday and conclude that either side is thuggish. The post-game Revs hate on the DCU board is the silly hooligan wanna-be talk that shows up on boards from time to time -- nothing to take seriously in terms of analysis. It's the same as people here talking about how much they hate Chicago or DCU -- for some posters, trying to work up hatred for an opponent apparently makes life more fun. There were lots of hard challenges (Bunbery's yellow card collision e.g., or Fagundez's hip check of Korb that provided Mullins time and space to shoot) and both teams attempted to dominate the other physically, but I did not see anything thuggish about it. Even Johnson's red card was tame -- he started to kick out in frustration but seemed to think better of it and hold off. Physical game? Yes, both ways. Dirty game? I didn't think so. With one possible exception -- I haven't watched the game on tape and in real time I didn't see Boswell's takedown of Rowe -- someone here described it as an intentional, blind-side trip. That is dirty, if that is what happened.
Thanks for the posts devoted to analysis of the games physicality. I also though the usual over the top physicality I've come to expect from DCU teams was not in evidence. I biggest question I think got answered--namely, has heaps been able to toughen up this roster so the teams can't get out muscled like it has over recent years. I've come to believe inn MLS a teams without bite is going to get overrun. It seems to me we are no longer the softies we've been in past years.