New England Revolution Missing Finishing Touch In Loss To Columbus Crew SC, Only Goal Might Have Been Offsides

The New England Revolution haven’t won a match in Columbus since the 2014 MLS Playoffs and that trend continued on Saturday with a 1-0 loss. 

After pressing Columbus for much of the first half the Revolution conceded a closing half goal on a pitch perfect set piece to Josh Williams who was able to catch goalkeeper Cody Cropper by surprise at the near post. 

New England overall showcased a full 90 minute performance and played a man down for 26 minutes and were still able to play the majority of the game in the Columbus third of the pitch. 

“I’m really proud of the players, the way they performed tonight. We did not deserve to lose” said Head Coach Brad Friedel. 

Another Off-sides Goal On The Road?

The Revolution may have a claim that the goal by Williams may have been off-sides however.  

Many fans of the Revs will remember the match in Toronto when  was able to score a goal that many would consider an off-sides position. 

The goal by Columbus is a tad different of course as Williams may have been in an off-sides position by a shoulder.

If you take a look at the screen grab below you can see the shoulder of Williams showing an off-sides position. 

New England Head Coach Brad Friedel who has been a vocal critic of the leagues VAR was critical of the non-call after the match. 

“The free kick is off-side. I know who was doing the VAR, I’ve had issues with him in the past. I don’t understand how you can’t see that he’s a shoulder offside.” said Friedel after the match.”It’s another one. It seems that we’re on the opposite end of a lot of VAR decisions.”

Finishing Continues To Be New England’s Main Problem, But Playing A Man Down Doesn’t Help 

New England started off in the high press early on against Columbus and caused the Crew to adjust rather quickly despite being at home. 

“We want to play, to keep the ball. They want to go direct. Again, credit to them. I thought Brad and his staff did an excellent job, they were up for it mentally and they gave us some problems, by pressing us.” said Columbus HC Caleb Porter.

The Revs did run into some serious trouble in the early stages of the second half with Michael Mancienne being issued two yellow cards following in a red card causing the Revolution to play a man down for the final 26 or so minutes in the match trailing by 1 goal.

“We obviously knew down a man we had to give up something.” said Andrew Farrell. “They obviously had the ball a little bit more in the second half when we went down a man. But we had our chances.”

As a whole it is hard to look at the New England Revolution performance and really find something to hate. For a team that played a man down for the majority of the second half they finished the night with 7 shots, 2 on target, compared to Columbus’s 8 shots, 3 on target.

“I thought the effort of the players was outstanding tonight.” said Friedel.” I think we bossed the game from start to finish.”

Pass accuracy as a team was 78% and held a 63% passing accuracy in the final third. But once again it was a match that the Revolution lacked the finishing touch. Part of it was Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen who made a number of saves including one on a blast from defender Jalil Anibaba. 

Carles Gil who has been the focal point of the Revs offense so far this season once again led the team in touches with 94, but the talented Spaniard was a 79.2% in passing accuracy, below his 82.2% average he holds through 6 matches this season. 

Looking at the possession numbers, the Crew edged the Revs by 5.6% which given being a man down it is hard to look at that is an area of issue.

New England had their fair share of chances in this match, but the one thing that has consistently been their problem this season to date has been their struggles at finishing. 

“I think at times we were maybe rushing it.” said Teal Bunbury. “Maybe we weren’t as dynamic as we should have been. Sometimes maybe, I think we were forcing it. We could have taken our time. And times we could have gone quick but we weren’t. So maybe, it’s a little bit off here and there.”

They are a club that plays a large percent of their time in their opponents half of the field but fails to finish. As a whole 42% of the match was played in the final third of the pitch, 42% in the middle third, and just 17% in the Revs third of the field. 

“I thought we had our chances.” said Andrew Farrell. “Obviously we could be better in the final third and created more chances. But at the end of the day, with how we played, I thought we deserved a point, or three.” 

Friedel Only Makes One Change To Starting XI 

After a week that saw 6 changes to the starting XI Friedel only made one for the match against the Crew. 

Juan Fernando Caicedo was in for the first time this season and the odd man out was Edgar Castillo who was off the 18 with an injury. 

“I thought he put in a good shift.” said Friedel on Caicedo.” He will get better and better as he gets matches under his belt of course.”

Onto the 18 for the first time this season was Gabriel Somi who returned to the Revs after an International stint with the Syrian National Team. 

In net for the second consecutive match was Cody Cropper who did not record a save but was able to step up on a number of occasions stopping the Columbus attack in its tracks and allowing the Revs to press back up the pitch. 

The Road Ahead

After Saturdays loss the Revolution fall to 1-4-1 on the MLS season and will return home next Saturday to take on the defending MLS Champs Atlanta United at 7:30 pm in Gillette Stadium.

New England Revolution Academy: U19s Continue To Roll

The New England Revolution Academy teams played in a total of 5 matches this past weekend across all age groups. 

Collectively the teams went 1-1-3 with all teams playing New York City FC at St.Johns University on Sunday. 

Season To Date Record And Standings

• Under-19’s: 9-4-1, 2nd place, Playoff Spot Clinched
• Under-17’s: 5-8-3
• Under-15’s: 4-5-4

Revolution Academy Goalscorer’s

Under-19s at NYFC, Revs win 2-1

• Trevor Burns (Son of Revs GM Mike Burns, three matches in a row with a goal)
• Nathan Metsack

Under 17s at NYFC, Revs draw 0-0

Under 15s at NYFC, Revs draw 2-2

•  Chase Lando
• T.J. Liqouri

Under 14s at NYFC, Revs draw 2-2

Malcolm Fry

Malcom Fry (Brace)

Under-13’s vs NYFC, Revs loss 2-1

• Jacob Dounetos

Upcoming Revolution Academy Matches

All academy teams will play at Gillette Stadium on April 6th against Beachside Soccer club

The U/15 and U/16-17’s will also play on Sunday, April 7th against Oakwood Soccer Club also at Gillette. 

Revolution Talk: Carles Gil Proving To Be Focal Point Of Offense With An Impressive First Touch And Vision To Move Up The Pitch

New England Revolution DP Carles Gil has been one of the teams better players to start the 2019 season. 

Gil has been the focal point of the Revolution offense which has flowed through the Spainish midfielder at an incredible rate and he leads the Revs in touches, passes, goals, shots, and shots on goal through 5 matches. 

One impact that is also becoming apparent is how the 26-year-old is making the players around him better with his forward thinking attitude and an impeccable first touch. 

“I think it’s actually really awesome that a player like him , with his ability, is able to face forward and play some forward balls, which gives me and Teal the ability to maybe go into the gaps and receive those balls. It just felt like in this way, the whole team had more options – playing forward, playing to the sides, keeping the ball. I just think there were a lot of triangles and options on the field.” Said forward Juan Agudelo

This past Saturday against Minnesota United FC Gil played a more advanced role playing in the upper third trailing Teal Bunbury and Juan Agudelo.

“I think it’s super beneficial to have two guys up top. I enjoy playing with Juan. There’s a different dynamic in terms of who’s checking to the ball. We can combine a lot more. And having Carles kind of underneath us, he doesn’t have free reign, but he kind of can get the ball in different areas and open up space for us as well. I enjoy playing with two strikers up top.” Said forward Teal Bunbury. 

One of the most impressive parts of Gil’s game so far in his young MLS career is his vision on the field. His ability to spot his teammates quickly and move the ball up the pitch accurately has made a lasting impact on his fellow Revs.

“As forwards, you always want to make great runs. You always want to open up space for either yourself or your teammates. Having someone who’s comfortable on the ball, can kind of pick you out wherever you are, it really is helpful. You have that in your mind going into a game that, the more runs I make, more often than not Carles or other players that play in there will be able to find us.” Said Bunbury on Tuesday. 

Gil and the New England Revolution take on Columbus Crew SC this Saturday at 7:30 PM ET.