The first game verified my preseason comment. We have a weak midfield. Zahibo was an improvement over Caldwell. But we sorely missed Gil.
Not that last season and one game of this is enough to confirm my thoughts on Fagundez, but it sure looks his evolution has gone from Homo Sapiens to Neanderthal. Certainly didn't help his cause that we seemed to be playing dual 6's all game, not the 8 role he's a bit more suited to. Also Kessler was a standout for us, but Binks>>Kessler.
I thought Kessler was a really nice surprise, reminded me of Michael Parkhurst as a rookie. On the other side, "Jar-Jar" Binks looked like he's definitely the real deal. The Revs were totally flat for the first 10 or so minutes, no possession at all in their half. Teal's goal was sweet, and well-taken, but both the sugar-coated announcers who said we were "playing well" up to that point need to get a reality dose. Zahibo changed the game when he came in. It was also nice to see that we have enough depth to make tactical subs depending on the situation. I hope that Gil is back soon and they are able to shake off some of the cobwebs. This was MTL's 3rd real game, so they naturally were sharper. All the more reason for my concern that they started playing pre-season games too late.
Poor finishing doomed the Revs. They created more chances, especially in the 1st half off those corners. Not to mention the self sabotaged moments running into space (probably chalk that up to the turf monster). The defense and CM remain a shambles, I like that Mancienne was brough in to "shore up the backline" and he lost Urruti on the 2nd goal. I also dont think completed a pass to a non-Impact player.
I also have been saying the midfield is weak and thats hurting the forward production. I like Scotty but he is not a creative force. I dont know what has happened to Diego? He seems to be fading away? Zahibo looks good at times but if he doesnt get his fouling under control... he will be too dangerous to put on the field. I thought he should have got a yellow after his third hard foul yesterday. At this point we have to get Gil on the field and work with Zahibo on his fouling. The future isnt bright for Diego, Scotty or Rowe at midfield. This was a game against a short handed team that played a hard game on Wednesday and they dominated us. Bruce has his work cut out for him AND we still need a few more better players. Midfield and Defense mostly. Ditch Manciene and use the money for a real player.
I really thought they would win that one, but I am not going to overreact. The goals they gave up are correctable. The Revs had their chances and really should have tied it on the Tajon header. I hope the injured players are back on the field soon (especially Gil and Caicedo). Presumably Caldwell started over Zahibo due to a Zahibo injury. I think plugging those 3 into the starting lineup makes this a much better team.
A couple thoughts: • That was a crap pitch. • The back line looked a little chaotic at times - perhaps to be expected given that this was Kessler's first pro game. But who doesn't like Kessler at this point? • I like Buchanan, and I hope we see more of him. I have missed that exact sitter myself (can still ear the clang of the ball hitting the post), so I'm inclined to be sympathetic. • Rather than piling on Diego, I would say that it shows how much we are a very average team without Gil. Agree with actester that with Gil and Caicedo starting in place of Diego and Scotty, it's a very different look. • Or does Gil replace Bunbury or Penilla? • I like Jones last year, and still like him. I don't know if this is possible, but I would like to see the Buttner of my imagination play Dmid. • I liked the Penilla-Bunbury switch of sides. • I thought Montreal was much better than had been expected on this board. I knew Urruti and Quioto could play, but did not expect Brault-Guillard or Binks to be as good as they were. Very impressed with Brault-Guillard.
More than anything else, and others have said this, it showed how much this team badly needs Gil to be on the field to have any chance. Nothing was clicking. Also, Gillette doesn't have the worst fake turf in the league as long as Montreal is using the Big O. Yowzah. I have to say I liked how they didn't quit after the disappointing disallowed goal/Impact equalizer sequence.
I am disappointed that none of the young returning players seems to have taken a big step forward under Arena et al's coaching Jones, Buchanan, Diego all looked the same as last year, maybe worse and even Turner got caught out on the 2nd goal Kessler looks like a solid find
I've decided to consider the game against Montreal as the last of our [abbreviated] preseason development. I'll take no lesson from it in isolation, and instead look forward to seeing this next game as a chance to see what the team really has to offer. Of course, if this next game is a reenactment of the previous, then we'll know better what we're facing.
Is there a place to find how many VAR reviews we've won and lost? They were 100% correct in reversing the goal, but does it feel to anyone else like VAR reviews have gone 80/20 against us?
It's unfair to call Buchanon's miss a 'sitter'. Sure, it's a close-in shot, but he's running full-tilt, head-first right at the post - that's a very difficult ball to keep focus on. Kessler did very well, but there were familiar moments of chaos in the defense. We seem to defend well enough on the initial attack, but by the 2nd ball/deflection/rebound/whatever we're totally out of position. Tough way to lose a road game, when you get the early goal, hold a lead for significant time, have a go-ahead goal called back for inches offside on VAR, smack it off the post on a near-in shot in the dying minutes, give up the winning goal on an audacious chip ... sheesh - a LOT of bad luck there. We all know how critical Gil is - the question for me is can we find a way to win when he's not available. No good answer came out of this one. Turner made a mistake on the go-ahead goal. It seemed clear that he had some indecision because he wasn't sure that Farrell was going to get over in time, which reinforces the fact that great defense is not just about making the plays, but instilling the confidence in your teammates that you will make the play. The D didn't do Turner any favors on that one. Had Turner had more confidence, he would have been back on his line. I like the fact that we do get quality chances even when we don't carry the play. I'm kind of scratching my head at Arena's decision to sub in Mancienne. We were carrying the play in the 2nd half, if the thought was to go defensive, it was the wrong time. And, as others have pointed out, Mancienne's distribution was poor and I'm not sure how much he really added defensively. Zahibo was a necessary and successful replacement for Caldwell - and a big reason we were better (more aggressive) in the 2nd half. The position we needed more out of was Fagundez' (although he did work hard defensively).
I'm just glad Turner wasn't seriously hurt when his cleats caught in the turf on that awkward save, especially after watching the Josef Martinez injury.
That's really the most concerning thing to me. If Gil is required to glue this all together on the field, and the team responds only to his presence, that's not optimal. For many reasons, I had really hoped the Revs would have had a better showing than they did - in part so that they knew they could execute even without their star player in the lineup. Knowing they could do so would possibly help them weather some rough spots during the upcoming season. But, no such luck.
I'm not going to get all bent out of shape over this game. Missing several key players, first game of the year playing a team that has already started its season, on the road on crap turf, and still the game could have been a win or draw for the Revs. They were unfortunate to come out of there with no points, even if they didn't play great. We all know where the holes are on the team. Hopefully, the lineup comes together as people get healthy, the team starts to produce some results, and Bruce addresses the needs on the roster as the season progresses.
I agree - expectations were raising IMO because of Montreal's situation (playing a few days before, moving off their home field, etc.), but the reality is the Revs didn't really play enough competitive matches during preseason (and a number of key players played virtually none) to be ready to come out of the gate fast. That said, the performances in Portland and Montreal show that they can be competitive even when not really playing all that well (that's a good thing to know, because there will be those times).