FOXBOROUGH — Only a couple of takeaways from Wednesday night’s 1-1 Revs draw against Philadelphia:
Eeesh, that was not a good advert for soccer — at times.
I mentioned in the Match Report that at times, the pace of the match dragged down to that of molasses with 31 fouls called, 19 on Philadelphia. The Union were also cautioned four times — and it should have been more, especially when Kai Wagner went studs up on Carles Gil early in the match. By the letter of the law, that should be a red card — and is, anywhere in the world, except against the Revs.
But not only that — there were a few periods where there just wasn’t any flow, nor attacking, nor anything resembling creativity. Both teams had four shots on-target, so three saves apiece. The Revs did have two shots blocked, and seven others off-target.
I did like the way the Revs played in a 4-3-3, but it was rather relaxed. What do I mean by that? You’d see Gil all over the place, you’d see Wilfried Zahibo all over the place — and these are good things. That’s wonderful movement off the ball.
And speaking of Zahibo…
Tip your cap to the Frenchman
We don’t say this very often, but stand and applaud Zahibo for the way he played Wednesday. We appreciate a good all-around game, and Big Wilf certainly turned that in.
Defending? Check.
Play on the ball? Check.
Got into the attack and nearly scored? Check.
That moment came in the 78th minute, when a Gil free kick was popped up and came right to Zahibo. And if it weren’t for Jack Elliot, that Revs killer, that would have been in the net, 2-0 to the Revs, and that would have been a well-earned goal and three points.
Would it have softened my take on Zahibo’s performance as a whole on the season, or his Revolution tenure? Not at all. I need to see more consistent play out of him.
Bruce Arena believes he can do that — with more time out there.
“He's played well, he's going to get better. If I had his body, I'd be winning a few more tackles, so we got to get him around the ball a little bit more. But he's good passer. He's done well in last month and a half. He hasn't played that much, so his fitness isn't where it should be right now. But it'll continue to get better. He's been a pleasant surprise,” he said.
Arena thinks Gil needs to shoot more
“When he has a shot, he should take it,” Arena said of the Spaniard, who has four goals already the season — but feels content to give the ball up and let his teammates have the spoils … you know, when they actually get them.
“I’ve noticed with our attacking players, they don’t pull the trigger when they should. They’ve got to look at goal a little bit quicker,” he added.
So it looks like that will be something addressed during the second half of 2019
Arena is keeping things light, that’s for sure
I usually get the second question during the post-match presser -- Kyle McCarthy from New England Soccer Journal gets the first -- while everyone is filing toward the car, and Wednesday I had mentioned Arena’s comments on WBZ-FM about how it was a big week for the Revs, and I had asked how not getting three points compounded the situation headed into Saturday’s game with Houston.
Arena’s response was classic Arena.
“Aw, you’re sounding like a real miserable person. You play the next game and you try to get the three points. It’s not life and death here right now,” he said.
I did get a kick out of that — and it was loose, not taken badly; I am the so-called “Bad Cop” of the press corps, and I will do my best to keep everything grounded. He’s done this with other reporters, so call it a rite of passage here in Boston. It’s also much unlike the way Brad Friedel addressed the media.
Lastly… what the hell, Wayne Rooney?!
Check out this wonder goal by Wazza in a concurrent fixture last night:
WAYNE ROONEY FROM PAST MIDFIELD!!!! pic.twitter.com/dJ5BriAOx3
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 27, 2019