![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/reis5.jpg?resize=145%2C300\" "\\"reis5\\"")
<\/a>Matt Reis made several key saves for the Revs on Sunday under tough conditions. (Photo by CHRIS ADUAMA\/aduama.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI think the manner in which we did it was a team effort,\u201d Nicol told reporters after the match. \u201cWe were in good shape, we defended well, we picked good spots. We are unlucky not to score more than one goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
That the Revs did all that while missing several starters is even more impressive. Looking to improve upon a squad that missed out on the playoffs last season, the team added experienced French left back Didier Domi along with fellow countryman, central midfielder Ousmane Dabo, both of whom have seen time in the best leagues of Europe. But, on Sunday, Domi and Dabo\u00a0were unavailable due to right knee swelling and a right quadriceps strain, respectively.<\/p>\n
The Frenchmen weren\u2019t the only ones unable to help the squad. Starting right back Kevin Alston was listed as out on the injury report with a right hamstring strain. Veteran center back Ryan Cochrane, another offseason acquisition, made the trip to L.A., but was struggling with a left abductor strain and found himself on the bench for the entire match.<\/p>\n
The injury situation worsened in the 22nd<\/sup> minute, when reigning team MVP Marko Perovic was forced to leave the match after he suffered\u00a0a left hamstring strain, forcing Kenny Mansally to make an early entrance. The severity of Perovic\u2019s strain and his status for the Revs home opener Saturday are unknown.<\/p>\n All those injuries meant the Revs were forced to play a patchwork lineup. To compensate, center back Darrius Barnes was slotted in at right back, while rookie A.J. Soares made his debut in the center next to another debutant, Argentinean import Franco Coria. Rookie Stephen McCarthy also found his first MLS minutes, getting a start in the center of the midfield.<\/p>\n That lineup shuffling, combined with poor conditions, may have caused havoc to the team. But, outside of some shaky moments in the first half, the team’s form – particularly the defense – held up well.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they did really well,\u201d said veteran goalkeeper Matt Reis of the new backline. “We shifted in slightly and covered. They really didn\u2019t have too many chances. It is something to build on.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, the slick conditions made some of the sloppiness unavoidable. Reis had a few shaky moments of his own as he struggled to hold the ball amid heavy downpours. In the first half, he coughed up a routine ball, giving the Galaxy an apparent goal before referee Hilario Grajeda whistled the play dead for a foul.<\/p>\n \u201cThe conditions weren’t really conducive for good soccer,\u201d said Reis. \u201cIt was more of a great battle. Roll up your sleeves and put your galoshes on. That kind of suited us with getting a point.\u201d<\/p>\n Those conditions didn\u2019t stop the Revs from getting off to a particularly quick start, however. Just two and a half minutes into the game, Shalrie Joseph put the club in command off a cross from Perovic to make it 1-0 Revs at three minute mark, the second-fastest start to a season in team history.<\/p>\n \u201cMarko just played a brilliant ball,\u201d said Joseph. \u201cOnce he puts it in the air I can go get it. He put it in the perfect area and all I had to do was steer it in. It was just a great ball from Marko and I finished it. It definitely settled us down a little bit having the early goal. It helped our confidence and it helped us relax a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n While it could be debated just how much that goal settled the Revs down \u2013 the team was under constant pressure from the Galaxy attack after scoring until Juninho\u2019s equalizer before halftime \u2013 it undoubtedly put them in an enviable position going forward.<\/p>\n The Revs came out much stronger after halftime, however, keeping the Galaxy attack largely at bay and looking much more comfortable throughout the field.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed to get the back four higher up the field,\u201d said Nicol. \u201cObviously, we played against the wind in the first half which makes it easier for them to squeeze and put you under pressure so that helped us. We had to get the back four up the field to condense that a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither side managed to create many opportunities in the final 45 minutes, though one gilt-edged chance presented itself in the 65th<\/sup> minute as a deflected shot fell to Joseph alone in the box behind the defense. The skipper attempted a low shot past Galaxy \u2018keeper Josh Saunders, but his effort was denied by the post.<\/p>\n \u201cI should have definitely done better,\u201d said Joseph. \u201cIt should have been 2-1.\u201d<\/p>\n Both sides could accurately claim they could\u2019ve done more with better luck or better finishing, but the Revs will certainly leave the happier of the two after drawing on the road against their much-fancied opponent. Last year, the team opened the regular season with a 1-0 loss against the same Galaxy in L.A. with a eerily-similar patchwork starting XI, and never seemed to recover. This time, the Revs will be hoping to build upon an important point and take confidence into their home opener this Saturday against D.C. United.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is always good to get a point on the road,\u201d said Reis. \u201cIf you look at it at the end of the year, if you get a point out of every road game, that is great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It may not have been the prettiest of points for the New England Revolution, but head coach Steve Nicol has every right to be pleased after last night’s season opener. Fighting torrential downpours, a rash of injuries, and the defending Supporters\u2019 Shield winners, the Los Angeles Galaxy, on the road in front of a sold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[24,3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/reisfeature5.jpg?fit=490%2C225","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3904"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3930,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904\/revisions\/3930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}