6/1/07
| Drawing a Blank |
by Brad Feldman |
The Revs will look to put last week's tough loss behind them and put up a win against winless RSL this Saturday, according to the Revs play-by-play man.
| Youth Revolution 2010 Away Replica Jersey |
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 The Revs have to be looking at Saturday night’s match versus Real Salt Lake as a great opportunity to get back on track quickly after the 4-3 loss to Kansas City last week.
RSL is 0-3-5. Yes, they’re winless through their first eight games even after the drastic moves of firing John Ellinger as head coach - and replacing him with Jason Kreis - and trading away last year’s MLS-leading goal scorer, Jeff Cunningham. They Revs should beat this team.
The K.C. match was an uncharacteristic performance for the Revs. As captain Steve Ralston said in his post-game comments, when the Revs score three goals at home (their average output at home this year), they expect to win the game.
What happened to the Revs? In short, they got sloppy. They gave the ball away in bad spots, they let their guards down when marking and they didn’t keep a compact defensive shape. None of those are characteristics of a Steve Nicol-coached team.
What was impressive was the way the two rookie substitutes, Adam Cristman and Wells Thompson, showed in the second half. Their injection of energy and bravado nearly was enough for the Revolution to leverage and gain a result in a match during which they’d already blown a two-goal lead. It also gives New England hope during the Gold Cup, when three star players will be off on national team duty.
So back to this RSL team that’s coming to town. You can’t call them a league laughingstock, even though they languish in a tie with L.A. for last place in the Western Conference. Kreis has brought a measure of stability to the Utah side, with Real going 0-1-3 with the league’s (soon-to-be former) all-time leading scorer running the show. RSL is MLS’ draw specialists with their league-leading total of five.
In Kreis’ defense, he’s had injuries and attitudes to deal with. Two of his better defensive players, Carry Talley and Daniel Torres, remain out for this weekend. Freddy Adu was by many reports being coddled by his ex-U.S. U-17 coach Ellinger and has had to be reeled back in by Kreis. He’s subbed young Fred - who turns 18 on Saturday - out of the two straight matches to send a message that anything less than 100 percent effort won’t be tolerated.
But what about getting rid of Cunningham? Kreis shipped the 2006 Golden Boot winner to Toronto FC for Alecko Eskandarian and a first-round draft pick because he only wants players who buy into his 90-minute work ethic mentality. That’s great, and there’s no question Cunningham was a space-shot and a sulker at times - but the guy has loads of pace and he…scores goals.
Alecko - and don’t take this personally, Esky - is no Jeff Cunningham. Eskandarian will get you some goals on blood and guts and his general pain-in-the-backside m.o., but his record of putting biscuits in baskets doesn’t come close to JC’s.
"So, if the Revolution just keeps it tight, gets good service into the strikers and doesn’t give the ball away in bad spots they should be just fine. Don’t look for any blown two-goal leads, or any draws, for that matter."
I respect Kreis for laying down the law, but you just have to figure that RSL has other plans in the works at the forward position. Atiba Harris just doesn’t cut it. Salt Lake has scored a mere seven goals in their first eight games.
With Talley out, Chris Lancos has gotten a shot at holding mid. The former NCAA DI national champ at Maryland had strong possession stats in the match analysis sheets, but if you look at the video of their 0-0 draw with Chicago last Sunday, Lancos had a couple of shocking giveaways in his own half of the field.
And Lancos is stopping in front of a very questionable back four. Jean-Martial Kipre? I’m not convinced from what I’ve seen. Jack Stewart at centerback? They’re missing Torres big time.
Even Eddie Pope, the man with 82 caps and an unflappable demeanor, has slipped. Once an A+ defender in this league, he’s now a solid B at best. He’s slowed down a step, though folks say - like Steve Ralston - Pope is refreshed this year from not having to go through U.S. National Team camps in the MLS offseason. Still, he’s not the rock-solid anchor he once was.
In goal, Nick Rimando is always fun to watch. He dives around like a superhero and against the Fire was terrific, making seven saves for the shutout. But he’s also prone to howling errors and I expect to see Taylor Twellman put at least one shot out of Nicky’s outstretched reach.
Where is RSL good? Well, on the right, Chris Klein is a class act with some wheels who always gives New England trouble. He could well keep Khano Smith pinned back for stretches of the game. I’m a Mehdi Ballouchy fan, too. The second-year Morrocan pro is one of the potential breakout talents in the league, and I think Kreis is putting more faith in his playmaking abilities than Ellinger had been.
Freddy? Well, the Revs won’t give him any birthday presents, that’s for sure. He’ll flatter to deceive, style on the ball and occasionally be dangerous in or around the box. But if Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz lean on him early - like they have in the past and should again on Saturday night - look for Adu to get hauled off by Kreis in the second half yet again.
So, if the Revolution just keeps it tight, gets good service into the strikers and doesn’t give the ball away in bad spots they should be just fine. Don’t look for any blown two-goal leads, or any draws, for that matter.
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