The New England Revolution lost 2-1 at home to the Houston Dynamo tonight in front of 14,357 fans at Gillette Stadium.
Heading into this game the New England Revolution trailed Houston by two points for the final playoff spot in the east. So a win was vital for NE, if their hopes of reaching the playoffs the season were to be realized.
Jay Heaps went with the same line-up that beat San Jose 2-0 a week ago. That meant that once again that there was no palce on the bench for Jerry Bengston or Kalifa Cisse. Are their days in New England numbered?
A year ago, teams had a lot success being physical against the Revs surfs in midfield; Rowe, Nguyen and Diego. And the Houston Dynamo showed that New England still struggle to beat teams that are physical against them.
Jay Heaps has to come up with a better game plan to handle this sort of physical play, especially when the referee lets the Dynamo continue to make foul after foul.
Houston physically dominated New England in a forgettable first-half managing almost 62% possession.
The game came to life four minutes into the second half when Adam Moffat (Houston Dynamo) volleyed home a clearance from 25-yards out. A goal of the season candidate in a game that had been devoid of any class up into that point.
New England immediately responded and got back on level terms in the 55th minute when Saer Sene scored from close range after a good run and cross by Diego.
Sene seems wasted to me playing on the left side of midfield. He is a goalscorer, someone who needs to be around the penalty box more. He is not a two-way midfielder so not only does NE miss his talents up-front, but he also puts pressure on the defense because he does not track back often enough.
Houston then snatched all three points when Moffat’s long range shot hit the post and rebounded into the net via Shuttleworth’s back. A bad break for the New England goalkeeper.
So where does this loss leave the Revs? Since thumping the LA Galaxy 5-0 on national TV, the Revs have won only one of their last five league games, the kind of streak that brings back memories of last season’s midseason swoon.
