I'd also like to clarify that the marking was atrocious on the Johnson goals too, Sene and Lechner weren't 100% at fault.
After blowing many opportunities in the first half and giving up two goals through failure to provide any pressure against crosses coming in, the Revs were flat for a long time, but Heaps' subs paid off by bringing needed energy. The slowness of the Revs' play invited physical challenges from Seattle. The Revs were fortunate that Seattle seemed to give up on its offense late in the game as the were pushing up for the tying goal. The stadium rocked when Fagundez tied it, particularly after all the rough and cynical challenges from Seattle.
The legend of Diego continues! I am surprised at the buzz in the crowd when he gets on the field. A lot of people, young and old in New England, remember this guy. I thought a sharing of points was a fair result. Shalrie had a nice game tonight. He was looking for the ball often, didn't get it as much in the first half as he wanted, but that changed as the night went on. Hit some really nice long passes and was generally sharper than most of the team on his touches. It is a treat to see the Revs when most of the smurfs are playing at the same time. I'm not sure you can get away with five of them or so in the game for any length of time, but it is fun to watch. I think the Revs were lucky to survive with the 3 back system toward the end. It was more like a two back because Tierney was playing fairly far up the field so that there were a lot of 2 v 2 chances (with 40 to 50 yards of open space) for Seattle. Classic case of a team not focused enough on punishing a team that is over extended. I'll take it!
Sene was sub-par today. Other than the goal that is actually offside, he didn't show much. Those 2 opportunities where he hit the ball to the sky were terrible, should have at least put it on frame. I agree that Soares has been less than mediocre the last 2 games. You don't even see his fiery self, pumped up attitude anymore.
Not going to disagree with a lot of the comments I am reading here, and the Revs still have an awful lot of improving to do and holes to fill. But I will just say this - walking out of the stadium after the Revs grabbed the point mere seconds from defeat, it felt like a win to me. They sent me home happy, at least.
I agree with all statements here. I'm thinking we're seeing the the true Sene now. The other games were the fluke. He was so far offsides you cannot make any excuse for the blown call and at this level, those shots have to go on frame Out defense made Johnson look good. I think we need one high quality center back and Im going to join the replace Tierney camp. I think his crosses and kicks are ++ but he is a little too slow. I think Johnson was his mark on their first goal. Maybe Alston and Lechner as outside defenders... one to the left maybe Boca will come to MLS? He'd be a step up if he did
Was at the game - my thoughts: We need to go to a 3-5-2 OR sit one of Joseph/Simms/Benny (probably in that order really). My preference from what I saw yesterday is to sit Shalrie. Benny is a better distributor and Simms is a better holder. Seattle should have been playing a man down - their holding midfielder deserved three yellow cards yesterday. Lechner is a good strong player - Alston has some real competition there. Those blaming the goals on the people letting in the crosses have to ask also themselves why Eddie was completely free in the six yard box: on BOTH goals there wasn't a body on him, he went up completely unmolested. Where I would also place the blame: - Matt Reis came out on one of them and AJ seemed to pull back a bit. Matt missed the ball and Eddie says 'thank you very much'. The other - I do believe that AJ should have at least put a body on Eddie, he seemed to lose him in the box - you can't do that. Heaps was apoplectic about that marking on the sidelines. Three minutes extra time for the first half, really?? Eddie Johnson goes down long enough for me to go from my front row seat up to the bathroom and out, before play resumes. Their goalie goes down for extended time to get his ankle looked at and there are three goals scored. Where do the refs come up with that estimate? Once we went to the 3-5-2 our play become more purposeful on offense, but we were certainly exposed on defense. The most beautiful play of the game for us didn't result in a goal - it was after all the subs and we had some great interchange between Lee and Cardenas I think and after about 4 passes around the box, they lifted a cross that was just a tad high for Sene to put in. There was a great 'flow' to that passing sequence. As the first poster said way back when - this would be a tie. We were very fortunate to get a point out of the game. I agree that Sene was offsides on the first goal - that was a gift. Though we gifted Seattle with a bunch of misses - inexcusable that Sene missed the goal on his two shots. Congrats to the subs and the team for showing the heart to pull out a tie. This team struggled and still has a long way to go. Diego is not our savior, nor, does it appear is anyone out there on the field.
As much as the Revs backs need to improve (wonder what Barnes is thinking while cemented to the bench), it was nice to see Eddie Johnson doing well. Just a phenomenal athlete and I thought he put in some hard work even when not in the box. I remember when he torched the Revs at Gillette for three goals back when he played for KC. I heard he has had some rocky years including not being that excited about soccer, but he was strong and engaged last night.
Take out Diego Fagundez from the mix and this side still reminds me of 97 Revs. And you know what..? Even the Revs need some calls going our way..although I hate getting results because of missed calls/cheating/etc. Too bad it exists in Sports but it does. Got the point..but in no way that felt like a WIN! LMAO The TFC game felt like a win..last night's game just feels like I walked out of a store and forgot to pay for my groceries! I'll get my nutrients but still feel guilty eating the steak...
Ahem. Sub par doesn't even begin to describe it. He was awful. He could have had four goals in this game, and the only one he scored, shouldn't have counted. Yep. Yep, Matt's fault on the second, but I believe it was also McCarthy that gave EJ a shove on that play, and actually put him in the perfect position to head that ball. Saw that right in front of the Fort, it was so beautiful to watch ... really deserved a better ending by Sene. Here it is... Even a broken clock ...
Bolding was my part. I remember early in the season questioning the communication in the backline... now it's really making me wonder. That goal, clearly, was Lechner's fault, but... everyone but Flo could see he was going to lose the ball, why the hell did nobody warn him? That's inexcusable that neither Soares, McCarthy, and even Reis didn't call out on it. Anyone at the game hear the backline talking to eachother? Cuz now I'm really curious...
(warning, drops F-bomb) Sene has magical moments. He also has Khano moments. Let's hope the former will outweigh the latter, and we won't have to say "no wonder he was in the ******** reserves."
Thanks - what I didn't notice live was that the cross took a deflection right off of his foot, I wonder if it really was a shot...either way it was a nice sequence building up to that point.
Revs should go back to the 4-4-2 and play Benny out on the right. Not his preferred position but it gets our best XI out on the pitch. In the middle last night he didn't see nearly enough of the ball to vindicate playing Sene out of position on the right. Sene seems to preform best with a strike partner that he can drop in behind. I actually think Brettschneider is the best choice as his partner at the moment with Diego the option to change things up off the bench. McCarthy was a beast last night. His last three matches have been impressive and I hope people are taking note. Flo was at fault almost completely on the first goal. Can't turn the ball over in that situation. Reis, Flo, and Soares were at fault on the second (in that order). Reis' communication has apparently been lacking the last few matches. He had a strange mix up with Soares in the second half when he could have easily came off his line and scooped up a ball rolling into his box but he stayed on his line and Soares had to boot the ball out for a throw. I think a striker is the biggest need position. Someone to partner with Sene. Sene didn't have his best match last night but he still scored which is something we can't take for granted after all of the duds the Revs have trotted out there since Twellman retired.
I completely disagree with the entire first half of this post. 4-2-3-1 is such a better formation for teams that like to try to pass it around instead of launching it, and I think Sene is capable of being a dangerous attacking right winger. When he's on he can beat guys one on one, a trait he can use more on the wing than when he's up top. And Benny as a RM completely wastes his talents. And McCarthy has been a beast? Really?
Simms must not be healthy enough to go 90; he got pulled before the 80th two weeks in a row, despite being one of the surprise contributors of the season. Are you nuts? Lechner is directly at fault for the first goal (consecutive bad clearance attempts) and indirectly at fault for the second (didn't close down the man, allowing an open cross). I love Flo as much as the next guy, but he didn't cloak himself in glory last night. Blame for goal #1 goes to Flo, for goal #2 it's split between Reis and Soares. Reis didn't commit the way he should've for the cross, and Soares got beat over the top (again) by an attacker. From the Fort (directly in front of that passing play), it was like 12 or 13 quick one-touch passes that Seattle could do nothing with. It was a glorious 45 seconds, and if Sene nods that down into the corner the way he should've, it's a goal of the week candidate for sure. That was the best play I've seen from this team the entire season. --- Don't get me wrong, Saer, I love the body of work overall, but holy crap has the last two weeks been forgettable for you. I think you blew at least four open looks in two weeks, and there's a degree to which I hold you responsible for getting 2 out of a possible 6 points. I don't get it - when we start Kelyn, he's mediocre. When we start Fernando, he's mediocre. When either of them come on as a sub, they're brilliant. Is it just that they have an energy and speed of thought that only works against tired legs? In the second half, Tierney was playing in front of Saer for long stretches. You're a left back, stop playing right forward. I know we were in squeaky-bum-time (love that expression), but he was so far out of position it was laughable. Never thought I'd say this, but at the moment, Big Creepy Steve is our best defender. Big ups to Heaps for having the balls to say, "******** it, we're changing the formation and going for the equalizer". Nicol would never have done something as dramatic as pulling a defender for another striker. And in related news, the heart that this team shows under pressure is completely new to the Heaps era. We may not yet have the personnel or talent to make a deep run into the playoffs, but we have the passion and commitment, and I attribute that to the coach.
I said McCarthy was a beast last night and has impressed (improved) over the last three matches. So in response to your "Really?": No that is not what I said. In terms of the formation, it was a disaster in the first half last night. Completely disjointed. Sene was consistently out of position leaving Lechner stranded and overmatched. In order to justify playing Benny Feilhaber in a free role in the middle of the field you need to see him influence the game and see much more of the ball. He improved in the second half but he didn't do much of anything in the first.
It's because our backline has barely won a header in our own 18 in the last few matches, calling any one of them a beast is ridiculous. The 4-2-3-1 didn't work as well as it could have, but calling it completely disjointed is way too extreme. I think a middle 3 with Simms as a super defensive counter attack killer, Benny as a deep lying playmaker, and Rowe as the more advanced attacking CM would be more effective. And while Sene was off last night at RW, I think with some more experience in that position he could become quite dangerous there.