Sweeney: With reactions slow and gaffes a-plenty, Somi needs to sit

So that’s what $425,000 in compensation gets you: three goals allowed in a 35-minute span, and nearly a few others.

Overpaid — and to many Revolution supporters, way over-played — and recently not finding the pitch after his performance against Montreal on May 5, left back Gabriel Somi found himself back in Brad Friedel’s starting XI for Saturday’s 3-3 draw against Vancouver.

The only question we have is ... why?



Somi’s rather rubbish performance Saturday may have been his worst in a New England shirt. The Syrian found himself picked on quite a bit by the Whitecaps, especially in the second half: mistakes made — being out of position, being too slow to react — led to all three of the hosts’ goals, which then allowed them to secure their fourth consecutive draw.

https://twitter.com/WhitecapsFC/status/1000510716888006656

On the flip side, New England dropped two points — the Revs now have five points in road matches so far this season, one less than they had in all of ‘17’s road matches — and had to fly back to Foxborough nearly an hour after the match to start preparing for Wednesday’s Eastern Conference matchup with Atlanta United FC.

Despite some earlier fair — note I didn’t say fantastic; they were adequate for someone learning a new system — performances this season, and yes, he was solid against FC Dallas on April 13, I think I speak for all Revolution supporters when I say that Somi should not be a part of Wednesday’s match, simply because he looked lost in that second half against the Whitecaps. In looking back at Saturday’s match blog, I count two first-half instances where Somi’s presence did not help the cause: right from jump street, Yordy Reyna beat him out on the left and crossed into former Rev Kei Kamara.

Twenty-five seconds into the match. Not a good sign.

It didn’t get much better, even though he started a 22^nd-minute counterattack: one moment of good work cannot overshadow just how poor he was from minute 49 to minute 82. Just before the half expired, Sean Franklin managed to get by Somi and tried to cross it in, but Jalil Anibaba got his big Californian boot on the ball, and that attack ended.

We hadn’t seen anything yet, though: Christian Techera, who scored all three Vancouver goals, would get around Somi in the 49^th to pull one of the Revs’ goals back, and two minutes later, after a bad giveaway in the back, Techera would get two touches on the ball at the back post. Matt Turner saved his first, but the rebound went back to the Uruguayan.

https://twitter.com/WhitecapsFC/status/1000511432507539456

He got enough of his head on the ball to score, and it’s 2-2.

The only question there: Where was Somi? That cross came in from the opposite flank, toward the post Somi would have guarded in this three-man back line Friedel trotted out for the second consecutive week. He was nowhere to be seen.

He was also nowhere to be seen when Reyna got behind him for the 74^th-minute goal that made it 3-3. Reyna started his run when he had 10 yards of separation in the middle third, then took the deep volley out behind Somi. Somi would run, yes, but he doesn’t have the speed to catch up.

Reyna crossed over to Techera, Techera slots home, and that’s that. Two points evaporating into the air over BC Place.

https://twitter.com/WhitecapsFC/status/1000516496500473861

It leads me to this question: Why did Friedel waste a sub by replacing Claude Dielna — who had a pretty good match for his 67 minutes of action — with Brian Wright instead of having Chris Tierney come on for Somi, who would then let Techera by him twice more in the ensuing minutes, only for Turner to come up with two rather solid saves? It’s a head-scratching moment in what had been a promising matchup, a chance for the Revs to earn valuable points against a weaker Western Conference opponent.

In most of New England’s matches, Somi has not been able to keep up with the total pace of play; it was clear to me at minute 52 Saturday that he was not up for the challenge. He has had moments where he falls asleep and lets his mark get away, and with his inability to get caught up (read: cement in his shoes), that usually spells trouble for the Revolution.

And quite frankly, that needs to end if The Boys In Blue don't want to drop points. Too many dropped points can be the difference in keeping the pace for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, or being left out entirely.

Somi has had good moments, yes. He’s had poor moments, yes. Saturday is a great example.

For the amount of money New England’s paying him (right now, he’s not proving that he’s worthy of earning those wages), he needs to have more good moments than bad in the back — or he needs to sit for quite a long while.