The New England Revolution continued their winless streak on Saturday night after Lawrence Olum of the Portland Timbers spoiled the party at Gillette Stadium late in the second half. Brad Friedel and Co. appeared to be in control for most of the game in more ways than one, but proved helpless against yet another opponent's set piece.
Let's look at the starting 11...
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Juan Agudelo
Cristhian Machado
Wilfried Zahibo
Teal Bunbury
Scott Caldwell
Kelyn Rowe
Cristian Penilla
Luis Caicedo
Diego Fagundez
Andrew Farrell
Michael Mancienne
Jalil Anibaba
Brandon Bye
TAKEAWAY
A possession-based
approach
Gio Savarese
Diego Valeri
Diego Chara
Portland's shift in tactics
Diego Valeri
Diego Chara
Samuel Armenteros
The Revolution midfield
THREE UP
Luis Caicedo:
Scott Caldwell:
Andrew Farrell:
THREE DOWN
Diego Fagundez:
Sean Sweeney
far
Cristian Penilla:
Matt Turner:
PLAYER RATINGS
PARTING THOUGHTS
- It's a shame that Caldwell and Caicedo will both have to serve accumulation suspensions for the Revolution's next game. I was looking forward to seeing if Friedel would keep this high-energy trio together in the next game for the Revolution, but unfortunately, we will have to wait until two games from now to see if Friedel thought as highly of this midfield personnel as I was.
- The clock must be ticking on Turner and his Cinderella story in goal for New England. He was great at the beginning of the season but I think he has become too lax in his decision making. With two experienced goalkeepers behind him, you have to wonder if one of them will see the field down the stretch. It would be more a statement than anything, but I think it just might be a necessary one.
- The Revs have some very good opponents approaching in their schedule. Who do they play in their next five games? NYCFC (away), LAFC (away), Chicago (home), Toronto (away), and Atlanta (away). Ouch. This is a tough hand to be dealt down the stretch for a team on the cusp of the playoff line. These games are ones that playoff-hopeful teams strive to steal points from. We'll have to see if the players in the locker room are up for that challenge, and capable of delivering.