The Morning After: Revolution at Impact

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

The Revolution collected the three points they were looking for in Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Impact, but it came with a painful price.

Saer Sene suffered a dislocated left ankle and fractured left fibula following a Davy Arnaud tackle inside the area during the 18th minute, and the Revolution winger is likely done for the rest of the season.

Here are some stats, facts and assorted potpourri surrounding the Saturday afternoon clash:

-With the win, the Revolution upped the probability of clinching a postseason berth from 17.8 percent to 34.8 percent – a number that also factored in Saturday’s 1-1 draw between D.C. and Philadelphia, as well as Chicago’s 3-2 win over FC Dallas.

-After the Red Bulls owned the Revolution in the air with an 85 percent aerial duel success rate, the Revolution turned their fortunes around in Montreal by winning 57 percent of the aerial duels.

-The Revolution’s best passers on the afternoon included Diego Fagundez (100 percent), Scott Caldwell (91 percent) and Jose Goncalves (90 percent). As a team, the Revolution completed 74 percent of their passes.

-The Impact’s best passers at Stade Saputo were Matteo Ferrari (89 percent), Alessandro Nesta (85 percent) and Hernán Bernardello (84 percent). As a team, the Impact completed 78 percent of their passes.

-Defensively, A.J. Soares (11 total clearances, six effective clearances) and Scott Caldwell (five tackles, four interceptions) were among the most active for the Revolution.

-Not surprisingly, Alessandro Nesta (eight interceptions, five clearances) and Matteo Ferrari (six interceptions, four clearances) were the busiest on the Impact’s backline.

-Jay Heaps had this to say about the crucial set of three points his club collected on Saturday: “You run into situations on the field that take the better of the game, so everyone’s heart went out to what happened to Saer. It’s a devastating play to be a part of for both teams and the response from our guys coming together and making plays and almost getting a goal almost ten minutes after was amazing, so I’m really proud of our guys for that.”

-Marco Schällibaum was at a loss as to how his players struggled to create chances: “This is a tough question to answer. Sometimes you go through stretches where you score a lot of goals, and you can’t really say why. It’s true; we are missing a little bit in the final 20 meters. We couldn’t penetrate the box. We didn’t make it tough on their defenders.”

-Tweet of the day:

Big time win from the boys in white today! One down.. #NERevs #playoffs And Everyone please keep Saer in your prayers for a speedy recovery!

— Lee Nguyen (@LeeNguyen24) October 12, 2013