I remember Caldwell near the corner of the box playing a pass out to Mullins who was by the touchline, and the speed of the pass was very slow and a Houston player intercepted it in stride
If you like microbreweries, Armsby Abbey in Worcester in a great place. They always have new interesting varieties to try (all the kinds you've listed).
Well, I guess it's now clear that when things go badly, the "usual suspects" will get trotted out for blame: Tierney, Shuttleworth, Goncalves contract issue and Parkhurst not being here. ... none of which really had anything to do with the loss. This game was all about 2 things: 1) a back line that didn't have it's parts together for the later part of preseason looked rusty, tentative and out-of-sync. Shocker. Guys were banged up; better to rest them and let them get healthy again, but the fact is, they were going to have some problems getting in sync. Sure, they could have sat Tierney and Goncalves - and predictably all the complaining would have been about not playing Goncalves, at the least. And, if you do sit those guys, why are things going to be any better in game #2? They have to get games together to get the timing back. At least we got that out of the way and the back four should be much better next game. 2) an offensive that did an extraordinary number of great things, yet never managed to finish the chances they created. It was a loss, an ugly one for sure. But, I am extremely encouraged by the quality of our offense. On the road, against a tough, physical defense, they really attacked and attacked and were creative and resourceful. I think they were quite unlucky not to score 3 goals themselves, with two off the woodwork, two close range attempts mishit and a ball that spun on the goal line for what seemed like 10 minutes! Dom Kinnear was surely thrilled with the outcome and the way his attackers pounced on our mistakes, but I'd be shocked if wasn't livid with his team for letting the Revs offense run riot over them - particularly at the end of both halves. Defensively the biggest mistakes were pretty clear, but it's worth noting that Brad Davis was brilliant and on at least two of the goals, we had the chance to shut him down or pressure him more and failed to. On the Caldwell interception, Alston failed to step up to Davis, giving him plenty of time and space to deliver a perfect back-post cross. On the third goal, the Revs were all over Davis, but still let him send the ball through for teammates to run onto. As for Shuttleworth, while he was indecisive on some of the crosses (isn't that what a master like Davis is trying to bring about - draw keepers out for balls just out of reach?), he was strong in positioning and shot-stopping - he wasn't to blame for any of the 4 goals. I'm not discouraged by this game (even as angry as I was watching the first 25 minutes), because our defense can and will be better. And, an offense that can function that well in and against Houston, will generate plenty of goals. Oh, and I agree %100 with whoever pointed out Feldman comparing Tierney with Davis. Just ridiculous. Davis is a brilliant MLS player and he was an absolute master in this game.
In my parallel universe, the ball was going the other way. I feel like a witness after a mugging. "It was dark. There were so many of them."
Watch the first goal again. You don't think he could have positioned himself better to cover the far post?
I think the Tierney comments in this thread have been pretty level-headed. You would expect a better performance from the guy, but he shouldn't have been counted on to go the full 90 after extremely limited playing time and injury in preseason. I agree on the backline. Losing Alston after 20 minutes certainly didn't help, though the damage was done by then. I was surprised to see Woodbine on the bench after him getting all the minutes he got in the preseason and generally positive reviews. A Woodbine-Alston combo on the wings would have been helpful as Tierney just wasn't ready to go.
I also felt Mullins could have done better stepping to the ball. In any event, it lead up to a goal for the cremes.
I've only been a couple times but I love that place. Food is great in addition to the beer selection.
I was away but did manage to see the game in a tavern in vermont (took a bunch of shit for asking if we could have it on one of the other tvs, but the bartender did oblige -- but that's anther story). FWIW, I don't think everything is fine. I thought it was shocking how badly the defense played, and not just on the goals. I know the Revs were pushing when they got down, but still, they were just shredded numerous times and the scoreline would have been beyond embarrassing if Shuttleworth had not made the 1 v 1 saves. I'm concerned that Goncalves struggled so badly, so quickly. I want to re-watch later this week, but you have to be concerned about a guy who is so dissatisfied and then his level of play falls so quickly. I'm going to Philly this week to see the game and I am as curious about this one as I've ever been abut a Revs game. Another bad performance by the defense and I think you have to start wondering if Goncalves might not have been right when he said he'd soon be back in Europe. I did like the offense -- all except for the bad finishing. I'm really really curious to see how they react this week . . . another performance like that I Heaps will start benching people, I'm guessing. Anyone know the status of Farrell and Nguyen. And what is Alston's injury?
Alston's been diagnosed with a compound stress fracture of confidence. He needs to take 2 and call Doc in the morning to cheer up. (Ok, seriously, no idea.)
I agree that Heaps may not be confident that he has a set #1 to last the season, but I would hope that he wouldn't go in planning on splitting keepers in the first 2 matches, which I think is what you meant when you say you think he'd start Knighton even if Shuttleworth had a shutout. Even if they're close, a coach in the professional game needs to have the balls to make a decision, splitting time to see how things go is what pre-season is for, and any coach/manager who was thinking he'll let them continue to split in the regular season shouldn't be in that position. I don't mind saying someone is on a short leash, that's different, but you can't go in and say we'll give you each a shot after the season starts. I may have wanted to see Knighton start, but if Heaps decided Shuttleworth was the starter, I'd want them to be strong enough stick with the decision until it's shown a change should be made, and I don't think Shuttleworth was at fault in this loss, in fact he kept it from being more embarassing. I feel like I'm defending him as if I'm his dad or something, which is odd seeing as I was not a big fan of him after last year, but in trying to keep an open mind and only judge him on what we see this season, I don't recall any of the goals coming truly from a lack of communication on his part. The first was an instant decision by JoGo, not something communication could have helped with, on the 2nd, you shouldn't have to tell a player 'don't make a weak square pass in the middle of the field on your own half with opponents around. On the third, you could sort of say communication might have helped, as Caldwell to me got to the run through the middle late, but when he got there, he was about as effective as a mosquito in defending the ball/player, his lack of strength really hurt him. There were many breaks in the second half, but to me those are going to happen when a team is pushing forward so hard trying to get goals. Unless you can see an a view from behind the shooter (or keeper), or from above, I don't think you can tell how he is on his angle. If the camera isn't close to in line on the shooter and keeper, the space between the keeper and the post nearest the camera (or in a camera view from the middle of the field, the space to the far post per the shooter, if the shooter is on a wider angle to goal) is going to seem larger, and from the 2 camera angles I've seen, I don't think there's anyway to tell how well he was placed on the shot. Unless I have better evidence, I can't see thinking that the keeper should have been better positioned right or left to save a shot from inside the area that went side netting.
Chronic Hamstring problems are a bitch and I'm betting with be a problem for Alston for the rest of his soccer career. Often they become enough of an issue to be career ending.
I think it's very hard to judge the offense based on the circumstances of that game. We didn't create a whole lot until we started throwing the kitchen sink at Houston in the second half. At that point we were taking tons of risks at the back and Houston was sitting back and allowing us to play. Let's see how they do in Philly, in what will hopefully be a much different game.
good point. agreed. it's one thing to crete chances when you're down 3-0 and not worrying about what going on be hid you -- its another thing to create chances in a tied or one-goal game.
It's not a given that a DM has to be hulking brute. With a strong back four, you can afford a couple of finesse players in front of them. But when the back line was as porous as it was last Saturday, then you really feel the lack of a sledgehammer at the DM position. Caldwell and Kobayashi both have good attacking vision, and can make those incisive passes that open up a defense. That's why I like to see them on the field together. Caldwell plays bigger than his size, but it's true, he's not going to win one-on-one battles with really big opponents. In a better world, he wouldn't need to.
Not having a strong dm is going to be a fatal flaw for this team. I forget which goal it was, but Caldwell got swatted away like a mosquito. It's going to put our mediocre defense and keeping under a lot of pressure. Imagine the difference it would make inserting a Jermaine Jones into that position, or a Shalrie Joseph from 5 years ago.