Revolution fall 1-0 to Columbus Crew in mediocre performance

October 11, 10:32 PMBoston Pro Soccer ExaminerL.E. Eisenmenger

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Paul Mariner consults with Crew coach Robert Warzycha
Photo: Walter Silva

A man up, the New England Revolution fell 1-0 to a second string Columbus Crew in one of New England's worst performances of the season. Defender Gino Padula scored the lone goal in the 36th minute assisted by poor communication in the Revolution defense.

The Crew danced around the Revolution even without national team players Frankie Hejduk, Robbie Rogers and Alejandro Moreno, injured defender Chad Marshall, and suspended defender Danny O'Rourke. To add insult to injury, they didn't even bring in Guillermo Barros Schelloto from the bench because apparently Coach Robert Warzycha didn't find New England worthy competition for the MLS MVP, whose services were reportedly turned down by the Revolution three years ago.

Post-game, the Revolution locker room was grim.

"Bottom line, we were just sh-- tonight, to be honest about it," said Shalrie Joseph. "The effort wasn’t there and it wasn’t good enough, being at home and so much on the line, we need to wake up and tonight we didn’t do much at all. It’s painfully frustrating to be honest about it."

"We didn’t even see the ball throughout the midfield, it was just boom, boom," said Joseph. "We tried to put it behind them but weren’t doing that and then I tried to go up top and we didn’t win balls, me and Kenny [Mansally] weren’t doing anything. It was just frustrating all over, man, frustrating."

Substitutions too late, too little

Despite the poor passing and ball chasing, coach Steve Nicol didn't make a substitute till the 59th minute when MIke Videria replaced Mansally, who had started as striker although he's only scored one goal in 1,552 minutes this season. Emmanuel Ekpo was ejected in the 65th minute for an aerial challenge that involved an elbow in the face of Kevin Alston, but even a man up New England couldn't get any traction until attacking midfielder Nico Colaluca substituted for central defender Emmanuel Osei, who made blunder after blunder, including ducking away to let the ball past Matt Reis.

The Revoluton shifted to a three-man back with Videira as a defensive mid, but not until Nicol brought in out-of-favor Mauricio Castro for Sainey Nyassi in the 79th minute did they resemble a professional team.

Shalrie Joseph gets a yellow card
Photo: AP/ Stephan Savoia

Castro, a veteran professional and Honduran national team player, made an immediate impact. He navigated through the midfield creating space and delivered the ball precisely to target players, but New England was in tatters and when the final whistle blew they were three big points farther away from a playoff spot.

"[Castro] is a good player," said Matt Reis, "and he’s got a good touch, so it’s good for him to get back in there and we need him for the stretch."

Nicol was not as positive. "When [Castro] comes into the game we’re pushing the game and they’re down to ten men, so it’s an easy time for anybody to come on. He didn’t start because he hasn’t been fit enough to start."

It's not clear why coming on a goal down in a critical game with ten minutes left on the clock is an easy time for a player with only 180 minutes, but Castro was optimistic about playing against the Chicago Fire next Saturday.

"Yes, I’ll be ready, will try to give 100 percent, to show the maximum," said Castro in his native Spanish, "so we can get the three points and make the playoffs. We have to keep a positive mindset to end up with a positive result."

Nicol criticizes team, blames the referee

Nico criticized the performance of the team, but as usual he blamed the refereeing for the loss.

"We had no quality tonight," said Nicol. "Whatever we did, whatever we tried, there was no quality in it and there’s no getting away from that. At the same time, in the 28th or 29th minute, we have what’s definitely a penalty which [should have] put us ahead 1-0."

What actually lost the game was Padula's goal, for which he made no excuse.

"Horrible, horrible," said Nicol, "there's no other way to put it, any way you look at it. Nobody's taking charge, it's a horrible goal."

"It was miscommunication," explained Reis. "I said “Away!” and [Osei] must have thought I said, ‘Keeper!” It’s just miscommunication and unfortunately that’s what cost us the game."

Osei's poor decision-making often outweighs his quick skills and ability to win 1v1 challenges, and the three-man back without him performed comparably. The Revolution remain in the eighth and final playoff spot, but face the Chicago Fire at home this weekend and a return visit to the Crew for the final game of the regular season the following week, who will be recharged with their national team players and very likely, Schelloto.

Emmanuel Osei leaps for the ball
Photo: AP/ Stephan Savoia

Mariner ready to jump ship?

Unsubstantiated reports from England indicate that assistant Revolution coach Paul Mariner has had enough and is on the verge of returning to England to become assistant manager of Plymouth Argyle. Speculation ranges from former captain Steve Ralston stepping in as assistant coach to an overhaul of the whole technical staff who failed to build a roster with healthy veteran professionals.

Three of the team's only six prime veterans had recently experienced potentially career-ending injuries. Taylor Twellman played only 1211 minutes last year after multiple injuries and a serious concussion, 35 year-old Ralston had just recovered from last fall's broken leg, and Chris Albright put in a good 2008 season, but only after rehabbing from surgery for a year in LA. The burdon of carrying this team fell on the shoulders of Reis, Joseph, and Jay Heaps, who all also experienced injuries this season.

Nicol, famous for discovering talent, perhaps listened too much to the hype and yes-men and tossed recent college graduates and bargain-basement Africans on the field and expected them to compete with seasoned US veterans and internationals. Not that some of the young recruits couldn't appear individually as satisfactory substitutes or starters in a field of professionals, but starting them all together with only two or three veterans supposed to run the show is ludicrous and expecting fans to pay to support this level of soccer is naive.

October 10, 2009 - New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew (Gillette Stadium)

Scoring Summary:
CLB – Gino Padula (unassisted) 36

New England Revolution (4-4-2): Matt Reis (GK), Jay Heaps, Emmanuel Osei (Nico Colaluca 69), Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Wells Thompson, Shalrie Joseph ©, Pat Phelan, Sainey Nyassi (Mauricio Castro 79), Kenny Mansally (Mike Videira 59), Kheli Dube

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton (GK), Stephane Assengue, Amaechi Igwe, Chris Tierney

STATS: Shots 7; Shots on Goal 4; Saves 2; Corner Kicks 2; Offsides 2; Fouls Committed 16

Columbus Crew (4-4-2): William Hesmer (GK), Gino Padula, Eric Brunner, Andy Iro, Jed Zayner, Eddie Gaven, Kevin Burns (Jason Garey 84), Brian Carroll ©, Emmanuel Ekpo, Emilio Renteria (Adam Moffat 75), Steven Lenhart

Substitutes Not Used: Kenny Schoeni (GK), Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Cory Elenio, Alex Grendi, Duncan Oughton

STATS: Shots 11; Shots on Goal 3; Saves 4; Corner Kicks 2; Offsides 3; Fouls Committed 18

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Emmanuel Osei (caution) 7
NE – Shalrie Joseph (caution) 38
NE – Kheli Dube (caution) 45
CLB – Kevin Burns (caution) 46+
CLB – Eric Brunner (caution) 50
CLB – Emmanuel Ekpo (ejection) 65
CLB – Jed Zayner (caution) 93+

Referee: Paul Ward

Attendance: 13,297

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