Revolution 4 DC United 3
The Revolution continue their dream start with an
away win to D.C. United. Dempsey is the MVP, as the Revs show they can play and
win in a baseball park.
Both sides come charging out hard in this battle,
which has some aspects of a good rivalry. The two teams have met more than once
in the post-season, and both have won the MLS Cup recently. DC United have more
possession early on, but after 5 minutes, the Revs start pushing forward as
well. The Revolution back line is playing soldily, blocking several early
chances. Twellman whiffs at a ball in the box in the 6th minute, and in the 13th
Eskandarian gets through, but can't turn quite quickly enough in traffic. The
Spanish-language commentators on Fox Sports en Español note that MLS teams
seem to play defensively on the road, like this is highly unusual. Of course,
his may be true, but it is also extremely common in Italy and, especially,
England, as well as many other European countries. MLS did not invent this by a
long shot, although perhaps it is less common in Latin America, with which the
commentators are perhaps more familiar.
In the 19th minute, Twellman goes down just outside the area, the ref awards the free, but Cancela shoots over the bar. In the 26th, Dempsey works his way down the right, and finds Twellman with his back to the goal. Twellman twirls and shoots, finding the far corner of the goal for 1-0.
As if this weren't enough, just a minute later, Twellman is fouled in the box and the ref points to the penalty spot. On the replay, you can see DC United's defender, Boswell, holding Twellman to keep him from jumping to head the cross, and allowing the keeper to snag the ball instead. It's a tough penalty from the DC United point of view, a lot of refs probably would not have called it (but more on that later.) Joseph fires in the penalty and its 2-0.
Then, incredibly, in the 31st, a solid defensive effort in the back leads to a quick counter, and Joseph runs down the center, waits until he has drawn the lone defender, and then passes perfectly to Marshall Leonard, who fires past the keeper for the third goal. In the space of five minutes, the Revolution, known for their poor starts to seasons, have scored three goals on the road. It's thanks to tough defending and canny counter-attacks. Now, declares the announcer, its time to "administer" the three-goal lead. Easier said than done, it turns out.
DC United threaten several times after the goal. In addition to the defense, I love the work of Dempsey and Noonan in midfield, winning balls and turning them into chances at the DC United end. New England continues to press, which is dangerous but fun to watch. In the first minute of first-half injury time, Reis stops a point-blank header and the defense scrambles away the rebound he concedes. But in the fourth minute of injury time, the ref calls a penalty against the Revs, for a strong challenge from Riley in the box. It really seems like a poor call, maybe the ref is trying to make up for the earlier penalty, who knows. Moreno scores, and DC United have closed the gap.
In the second half, DC United threaten through Moreno and Quaranta. Freddy Adu is in, working a ball-winning center midfield role that is unusual for him. In the 57th, he comes out of midfield to win a ball, passes to Guppy, who crosses to Quaranta, who then flicks in for the second goal. Now the Revolution must be mindful of a collapse, and they continue to work hard on offense. Twellman has a goal called back for offsides in the 64th. Jay Heaps is doing well in central defense. Adu starts coming down the left flank following the injury to Guppy.
In the 73rd, Noonan slips in past the defense, but then shoots wide (or crosses short.) DC United are coming at the Revs hard, but in the 77th minute, against the run of play, Dempsey hits this great diving header off a long cross and scores, giving the Revs a more comfortable 4-2 margin. Dempsey celebrates cheekily by running to the home plate area of the field and pretending to hit a home run in the Washington Nationals new ballpark. In the 81st, however, the ref calls another penalty against the Revolution for a hand ball in the box. It looks like Leonard's shoulder has touched the ball, but, inexplicably he does appear to control it deliberately, despite the fact that there was nobody anywhere near him. Moreno, ever reliable, puts the PK in for 4-3. DC United come hard and the Revs park in their box to resist the onslaught. Then in the fourth minute of injury time, DC United keeper Rimando makes a great save on a Twellman shot, and the game finally ends. Wow. Lots of goals, a stirring come-back and a Revolution win. What more could you ask for. The Revolution are off to a great start, undefeated in three games. They play again at mid-week, so we'll see where it takes them.
In the 19th minute, Twellman goes down just outside the area, the ref awards the free, but Cancela shoots over the bar. In the 26th, Dempsey works his way down the right, and finds Twellman with his back to the goal. Twellman twirls and shoots, finding the far corner of the goal for 1-0.
As if this weren't enough, just a minute later, Twellman is fouled in the box and the ref points to the penalty spot. On the replay, you can see DC United's defender, Boswell, holding Twellman to keep him from jumping to head the cross, and allowing the keeper to snag the ball instead. It's a tough penalty from the DC United point of view, a lot of refs probably would not have called it (but more on that later.) Joseph fires in the penalty and its 2-0.
Then, incredibly, in the 31st, a solid defensive effort in the back leads to a quick counter, and Joseph runs down the center, waits until he has drawn the lone defender, and then passes perfectly to Marshall Leonard, who fires past the keeper for the third goal. In the space of five minutes, the Revolution, known for their poor starts to seasons, have scored three goals on the road. It's thanks to tough defending and canny counter-attacks. Now, declares the announcer, its time to "administer" the three-goal lead. Easier said than done, it turns out.
DC United threaten several times after the goal. In addition to the defense, I love the work of Dempsey and Noonan in midfield, winning balls and turning them into chances at the DC United end. New England continues to press, which is dangerous but fun to watch. In the first minute of first-half injury time, Reis stops a point-blank header and the defense scrambles away the rebound he concedes. But in the fourth minute of injury time, the ref calls a penalty against the Revs, for a strong challenge from Riley in the box. It really seems like a poor call, maybe the ref is trying to make up for the earlier penalty, who knows. Moreno scores, and DC United have closed the gap.
In the second half, DC United threaten through Moreno and Quaranta. Freddy Adu is in, working a ball-winning center midfield role that is unusual for him. In the 57th, he comes out of midfield to win a ball, passes to Guppy, who crosses to Quaranta, who then flicks in for the second goal. Now the Revolution must be mindful of a collapse, and they continue to work hard on offense. Twellman has a goal called back for offsides in the 64th. Jay Heaps is doing well in central defense. Adu starts coming down the left flank following the injury to Guppy.
In the 73rd, Noonan slips in past the defense, but then shoots wide (or crosses short.) DC United are coming at the Revs hard, but in the 77th minute, against the run of play, Dempsey hits this great diving header off a long cross and scores, giving the Revs a more comfortable 4-2 margin. Dempsey celebrates cheekily by running to the home plate area of the field and pretending to hit a home run in the Washington Nationals new ballpark. In the 81st, however, the ref calls another penalty against the Revolution for a hand ball in the box. It looks like Leonard's shoulder has touched the ball, but, inexplicably he does appear to control it deliberately, despite the fact that there was nobody anywhere near him. Moreno, ever reliable, puts the PK in for 4-3. DC United come hard and the Revs park in their box to resist the onslaught. Then in the fourth minute of injury time, DC United keeper Rimando makes a great save on a Twellman shot, and the game finally ends. Wow. Lots of goals, a stirring come-back and a Revolution win. What more could you ask for. The Revolution are off to a great start, undefeated in three games. They play again at mid-week, so we'll see where it takes them.
Posted: Mon - April 25, 2005 at 09:50 AM
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Published On: Jun 13, 2006 12:00 AM
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Published On: Jun 13, 2006 12:00 AM