By Michel Pierre-Louis
The New England Revolution kicked off their 2014 MLS campaign on the wrong foot, going down 4-0 at the Dynamo on Saturday night at the BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Things started going downhill very early for the visiting Revs when less than 2 minutes into the game, as a result of very poor judgement by Jose Goncalves, Will Bruin beat Bobby Shuttleworth with a beautifully struck ball. The Revolution definitely seemed unprepared and appear to have been caught by surprised. Just 10 minutes later, Bruin would add his second of the night, complicating things further for the Revs. Bruin would also provide the assist in the 23rd minute of the match for Boniek Garcia to make it 3-0 for the hosts.
The first 45 minutes were heavily lopsided in favor of the hosts. Down 3-0, New England needed all the help they could get. In the second half, coach Jay Heaps brought in the likes of Jerry Bengston, Saer Sene to try to spark the attack – alas, to no avail. The lone bright spot for the Revolution tonight might have been youngster Diego Fagundez. Although he did not score, the 19-year-old was by far the most impressive player for the Revolution, stringing dangerous passes into the Dynamo box and even stricking the woodwork late in the game. Early in stoppage time, as if things couldn’t get any worse for the Revs, Clark’s shot deflected off Cummings to beat Shuttleworth, making it 4-0 in the first minute of added time.
While this was only 1 game out of 34, and it certainly is way too early to panick, it is obvious there’s a lot of work to be done. From highly uncharacteristic mistakes from Jose Goncalves, (one certainly have to wonder how his contract talks are affecting his play), to a seemingly inexistent midfield, resulting in lack of opportunities for the strikers; it was not a pretty sight. Jay Heaps and the Revs will have a full week to try and right the ship before they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Union next Saturday before their home opener.
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