FOXBOROUGH — Sitting here at Gillette, staring out at green plastic fibers and trying to process what “9,422” in the building and a handful at home just watched…
At the very least, Brad Friedel finally took the blame for once
Through the first season-plus of his tenure here on Route 1, Friedel has spoken of poor mentality and have credited the opposition when they beat the Revs, which happened Wednesday night for the 19th time in the league and 20th in both competitions.
Yet on Wednesday, he stepped up to the microphone in the media workroom and placed the blame on his Buckeye State shoulders.
“In the first half, I’ll take the blame — not my staff, not the players. I obviously didn’t motivate the players to be up for the game. In the first half, we were second to everything. In the second half, ironically the 10 minutes before they scored their (first) goal, it was probably our best spell, if you want to call it that, in the game. We were starting to create a little bit more,” he said.
Yeah, I’m just as shocked as you.
Cody Cropper did not deserve that. Not one iota of it.
My colleague Jeff Lemieux stated those words on Twitter shortly after the game, and I have to concur.
Six saves, five of which coming in the first half. Two of them came on an incredible sequence after Maxi Urruti blew past Andrew Farrell and crossed almost through the entirety of the box in the 10th minute. Those were huge, and the Midnight Riders and Rebels were chanting his name.
Double Save! ❌❌@NERevolution keeper @codycropper_01 denies two #IMFC players in a matter of seconds! #NEvMTL pic.twitter.com/f0vOZqTglG
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 24, 2019
.@ebushel1 was clear. Regardless of the result, that game shouldn't have been played. #IMFC's GK explained every step of the past 24 hours... pic.twitter.com/usvFQZsTb4
— Nicolas A Martineau (@nikmartineauTVA) April 25, 2019