Revs 1, LA 0, in front of one of the bigger regular season single game crowds in recent history, TNT with a solo effort for the goal. Wasn't able to catch it from my hotel room (no Galavision on the TV), but followed it via MatchTracker. Seems like a good win for the revs. Discuss.
That is the impression I get. Nobody wants Beckham to think their team is as godawfulbloodybad as the hapless squad he is now mired in .
About a 3rd of the Galaxy roster belongs in the USL and not necessarily the USL first division. Plus Pavon looks like he's shot. Nice job assembling talent Alexi......
Well....we dominated the first half and Taylor had multiple great chances that he couldn't convert. Then in the second half, Landon decided to come along and started to create some havoc and created multiple chances and we only had two or three chances and Taylor put one of them in. We played well enough to win and we won. There was some nice one-two through the midfield and in the offensive half. We did seem to like to go the direct route in the second half as LA was pushing forward. However, we were able to create some chances with it. A couple of people comments - we still have occassional mental lapses that are dangerous. Jeff L - bad, bad turnover for no reason at midfield late in the second half created a break for LA..two of our defenders (I forget who the two were...) where they both looked at a ball near the top of the box waiting for each other to get it and the LA forward got there first, just bad. Also, not a mental lapse, but Donovan was able to round Parkhurst at the edge of the box. It was an awesome display by Landon, it really looked like Parkie had the angle and position and Landon just turned on the speed...Mike did well to push and grab without getting called for it, but LD still got by him. Thank goodness we were able to cover up for him. Overall, we are a very good team, great shape, covering for each other, finding each other and playing off of each other. Good movement tonight overall. LA started a team that was VERY focused on OFFENSE - Kirk, Pavon and Buddle up front with LD playing behind them. The good news is that they didn't have enough of a midfield to get them the ball. We do have a very strong midfield. Avery John seems to have relegated Riley to the bench. He didn't do anything tonight to allow Riley back. Great to see Parkhurst in the center, he continues to read the game so dang well. Harmse is hack. If there is one good thing about Beckham it should be that Harmse sees the bench more. Hope Ralston is OK...that was one of the low moments of the match. We must have kicked the ball out two or three times after LA players went down. Ralston goes down and LA attacks and retreats two or three times, before the crowd starts to boo and someone kicks the ball out. Really sad that a class act like Ralston is on the ground and the other team chooses to not recognize it. I can understand making the quick counter when you win the ball, but after it gets turned away, you show some class and kick it out. OK - sorry, but we are New England fans and I have to have a huge complaint. WHO IN THE WORLD FIGURED OUT THE TRAFFIC PATTERN!! IT WAS AN ABORTION!! We come from the south and we were arriving an hour early and they had closed down Rte 1 North for some reason and forced us to come up the Route 1 South side of the highway??!! What was up with that? It took us 20 minutes to go about 1 mile. Just a disaster. Not a disaster necessarily for the season ticket holders, but for those who were coming to their first 'big soccer game' it must have been a bad experience. I'm sorry, but it was not a good thing. OK, enough, as I said above, the team showed fire, effort and covered for each other and played as a team, it was nice to see.
3 points + big crowd = more fans We are now 6 points clear of DC, tied w/ FCD for overall points, 3? pts. ahead of Houston.
Great afternoon, fine game, especially since Twellman eventually put one away, but getting out of the parking lot was abominable. It took us an hour and a half to reach Rte 1. That's nearly as long as the soccer game. And there were plenty of cars behind us, still trying to get out of the lot at 10:30. This is hardly the way to encourage the many visitors to return to watch more games.
On the crowd watch front the atmosphere was pretty good. There was a section across from the Fort carrying the "You Suck" on goal kicks in the first half and some looneys to the right of the Fort (just shy of mid-field) who started a few "Rev-o-lution" chants and a round of "Oggy oggy oggy". The Fort was quite loud from where I was sitting (club seats) and the streamer display looked good. Also liked the yellow streamers for the 2nd half yellow card. Couldn't help but chuckle when the whole stadium booed in response to Beckham being shown on the big screen near the end of the game, good times.
Twellman did finally score but in the first half he put ---FOUR---sitters wide left--one off the post. He needs to finish those. Fortunately it didn't come back to bite us in the butt. No Revs got cards Fans went away happy and I think, all in all, even though they didn't see who many of them came to see they seemed satisfied they saw some good soccer with the home team the class of the night, Damn it was fun watching our team playing soccer with the lower bowl full.
I couldn't have said it better myself. The tailgate (both pre and post) were really awsome. Good times at Gillette. I hope the fans didn't get turned away from the whole traffic scenario. Although if we consistently get 30k people to come to Revs games, I would not care one bit about traffic. Free Parking? For some reason I think the Revs knew that Beckham wouldn't be playing today so they tried to do anything they could to make it up to the fans. I think the players did a pretty good job of that.
This was one of the best tailgates, both pre and post, that I've ever been to. I'll give a full "review" of the game tomorrow, but here are some points: -The police prove that once again they have nothing better to do than go on power trips. -We weren't good. Ya we scored, but we did the same thing we did against Harrisburg, come out strong for 20 minutes and then drop down to the opposition's level. -Why is Khano still starting? I mean some of his passing today was just awful. I don't mean awful in the sense that he missed by a few feet or lead someone too far, he was pulling flashbacks of the KC free kick. -Why can't Twellman go back to poaching? I love that he's improved his overall game, but we don't need you in the midfield 70% of the time. -Who's this Jason Beckman guy? I heard he was good, did he play? How many points does he have? -Piss off if Beckham didn't play. If someone bought this ticket, were treated to a decent match and still complain because one old player on his decline is injured and you didn't get to see what surely would have been a miserable performance, then well, I don't want you around. I'd go on more, but I've got to get up at 7, need my beauty rest. Cheers.
I have to be up in 5 hours, why bother sleeping? LA is horrid. With the players they have and the schedule they have, this team is not only going to miss the playoffs, but look absolutely terrible in the process. We played well. Score should have been 5-0. Avery John still playing incredible. I now understand why Twellman is not a favorite of the U.S. fans. Poor finishing on his part. Khano, I dunno, he isn't the same player. [*rant] Parking absolutely sucked. They tried to put me in the top lot, even though my pass says otherwise. When I told the kids waving flags I park with the Midnight Riders, they gave me a blank stare. Getting out I waited a while, then had to turn around and drive through the stadium complex to get to Route 1 South for some inane reason. Foxboro police made sure we weren't having fun after the game. And to the two middle-aged men who I walked by on the bridge: civilized men don't push and shove to get to the exit faster, be patient and don't start trouble with each other. [/*rant] Top of the league. Dick Wiz tour coming up, then we have a Saturday night game for the first time in 6 weeks. May try to sneak up to the city for that weekend.
A few selected post-game quotes: http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/index.cfm?ac=latestnewsdetail&pid=27054&pcid=115 Nicol On the crowd… "The crowds we have are very enthusiastic. You know that Midnight Riders behind the goal are always loud. We have a good atmosphere here anyways. But, obviously with more people it’s even louder. We said previously during the week, if you can’t play in front of a big crowd and be able to relax and play you’re best and go enjoy yourself then you’re in the wrong job. So, did it help us? Absolutely. It helped us." Reis On impressing the home crowd … "When you have that many people come out, you want to put on a show and you want to put on a good show. If we can get a couple of those people to come back and say, ‘you know I had a great time tonight and you know that Revolution team is a good team and they play good soccer,’ and I think overall that’s what we’re trying to do." Taylor On the large crowd … "It was awesome. I walked out on that field and I wish every game was like that. I think if the fans just gave us a chance and obviously came to more games - obviously tonight was a great game and we did a great job - we gave them a good show." On L.A. midfielder David Beckham not playing … "I think our product on the field is top notch. I think the Revolution is worth coming out and watching play, whether Beckham’s here or not. Hopefully the fans realize that and keep coming." Shalrie On the large crowd … "I wish they would come every game, especially every home game. We get that fan support and we can let them will us on and push us on to get that goal. With fan support like that we definitely have to show the fans what we’re worth, and I think tonight we showed them a great attacking soccer game."
I particularly like the players answers in regards to the crowd (FWIW, obviously they arent going to say anything negative). But it seems like they, even as players, have the same dreams we do as fans. This is especially evident in Taylors' response to becks not playing- he doesnt even really mention Beckham and focuses on the fans and the Revs product.
My wife and I are season ticket holders and live only 10 minutes away from the south. At quarter to 6 pm we were on rt 1 north. We made about 100 yards progress in half an hour or so. Hated to not show up for the team (couldn't give two shi*ts about Beckham, figured he was going to not play anyway) and turned around and went out to dinner instead, watched the dvr later. I don't ever recall it being that bad for some of the larger crowds. It certainly wasn't during mls cup and never is during Patriot games. Another example of Kraft using less then the best resources for his kiddie team project.
Oh...btw - Robert Kraft was at the game in case anyone was interested. He made sure that he came down and said hello to Beckham before the game along with Dean Cook. I also couldn't help but wonder that us 'regular' fans were getting the shaft as I saw that the Rte 1 North lanes were reserved for Limos. Really, the traffic people for this game should be shot. It was just way too ridiculous. Coming from the south I was looking for P8 - what my season ticket parking pass says I should park. Never found it, asked a cop, he said P8 was full. So when we try to pull into P1, the guy in orange says that our parking pass says we should go back around to P8. I say, no, we were told that was full and we'll just pull in here thank you. So we did. He was fine with it, but it was just bad.
Ralston and Shalrie were on fire last night. Good to see Ralston get fiesty. Shalrie just bullied their midfield. After watching some of the game at home after the Match, I think Twellman should have had 1 more, the other chances were not really sitters. Second half dropped off and in my opinion Nicol does not use his subs very well. Khano was obviously spent around the 60 minute mark and should have been subbed then. Noonan was done about that 75 minute. LA was stupid not to try and give the ball to donovan and have him take on Wells. As soon as I saw thompson move to the right and Donovan drift over there I thought we were going to see a boat load of 1v1s with Landy cakes winning the majority good win for the Revs good to see all the fans show and I hope a few decide that it is worth comming back
I was less then thrilled with the way the Revs played yesterday. Yes we outclassed LA but that's not hard to do looking at their record and due to the fact that they were missing 5 starters (says the Globe). The fact is that at the end of the day, we only had one goal and LA was unlucky that Donovan didn't tie it up near the end. Also, LA was dominating us at the end of the game. LA may be the weakest team in MLS. Why can't the Revs come out and just kick the crap out of teams like this? Instead, we slowed the game down and let them hang around. It almost cost us 2 points at the end. The Revs had a chance to excite many new, potential fans yesterday and instead of doing that, they played a somewhat uninspired and boring game. I don't watch much English soccer on TV but the one thing I have noticed is that every team goes full tilt, all the time. Their fans won't tolerate anything less then a big effort every game. Why do the Revs think they can jog through games, playing just hard enough to win? You'll never get people excited playing like that and in the end, you'll never win it all
It wasn't the Revs best performance yesterday. However, given it was their 4th match in 11 days, I'll take it.
Very happy with the whole teams performance, and hustle. Reis made some good saves. Look for a clearout in LA at seasons end.
My two cents: I brought a co-worker who was born and raised in Leeds, England. He's been working in the US for about 7 years, but had never been to an MLS game. He agreed to go to see Beckham. After the game, he reluctantly admitted to me that the Revs were a better team than his beloved Leeds United. So in the case, David Beckham: mission accomplished.
Thoughts on the game and the logistics: Shalrie was a beast in the midfield..best player on the field last night. Taylor got his goal, but needs to do better with his chances. Avery John continues to show as the better option at left back..Dorman was mostly non-existent. Crowd question: There were 32k there last night...usually, only one side of the sadium is used and behind one goal yet the team averages 14-15k. last night, both sides, behind both goals and the Red second level were used and there was 32k...something doesn't wash...how much are we inflating the numbers for ususaly games if 70% sales of the east side =14k whereas sales of the who lower bowl and mezz. = 32k?? So we got there (coming from CT) 90 minutes early and were told that the West VIP lot was full and we were told to park across the street. The State Trooper I spoke with about it said "you don't usually get this many people here for a soccer game so don't complain" Fine, but if there are a fixed number of VIP spots, a number that doesn't change game to game (there are only so may Center Circle and club seats), how can that lot ever be full???
I thought the Revs played pretty well for most of the game and should have gotten a few more goals if they finished better and Cannon didn't make a couple of good saves. However, it shouldn't have been as close at the end as it seemed they started tiring and made some pretty bad defensive breakdowns just as LA was really pushing for the tying goal. As one person pointed out, two defenders just watched the ball bounce in the box while Galaxy players converged on it from behind them. We were really lucky there not to have been tied up. That incident when Ralston went down was ridiculous. We killed a few potential counterattacks because they had players go down, yet when we have one player on the pitch, they try for two minutes to take advantage? Surprised Nicol didn't leap onto the field to cleat a few players himself. In regards to the parking situation, one thing no one has mentioned which is having a huge effect is the construction. This was their first big test since they started it and they failed miserably. If anything, I'm feeling sorry for Pats fans over the next few games (since there is no way that construction is getting cleared by then). Not only did they kill off a huge section of the parking, they also created the added complication with the elimination of the courtyard of forcing people who parked on the opposite of where their seats are to use the bridge exclusively to get back to their cars. It took us nearly 30 minutes just to exit the stadium itself because of that, with the bridge at a standstill. One woman, a short round lady in green, literally shoved her way from one side to the other, knocking people over like a runaway boulder. It isn't going to very pretty on Friday night down there. In a side note, I was a proud poppa. Hunter actually threw streamers for this match (at the proper time, no less), plus he borrowed Billy's plastic cowbell to add to the music. He even waved for the people to stand up in the adjoining sections. See, going to these games does indeed lay the groundwork for kids to become fans for years to come. Mike
Since I pre-game complained about it, I'd like to thank the REVs for getting rid of the white gridiron lines we saw at the USOC game. The REVs are a scary team. They can really move the ball and work it around like the first half, but only if the other team isn't pressing. When the other team presses, it falls apart and they resort to just booting it up field. I'm hopeful that most of the non-regular attendees were fairly happy with the game, despite Beckham sitting on the bench. Most of the crowd seemed to stay till the end instead of leaving 15 minutes early. Maybe they'll come back. More attendance = more revenue = signing more talented players. Well, I can hope so anyway. As a USMNT fan, I have to say I'm really disappointed at the way Donovan mailed in the first half. LA looked alot better once he started actually running a bit.