Five Things We Learned: Revolution at Dynamo

Revolution center back Stephen McCarthy (center) was part of the defensive effort in Saturday’s 2-0 win. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

Following a convincing 2-0 win over a Dynamo team that had once been unbeatable at home, the Revolution had to feel like they just captured the Anschutz Trophy. Or at least another SuperLiga crown.

And why shouldn’t they? After all, few pundits predicted that the Revolution would stand a chance, nevermind grab all three points in Houston. Popular belief held that the wounds suffered in their streak-breaking 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City would pit a bloodthirsty Dynamo squad against an underperforming Revolution side that hadn’t won in H-town since Ilija Stolica and Marko Perovic were manning New England’s attack.

That may not seem like very long ago, so let’s introduce some context. In the days, months and years that followed the New England’s 2-1 win over Houston on that numerically memorable date of Oct. 10, 2010 (10/10/10), the Dynamo have switched conferences, earned a pair of MLS Cup berths, moved into brand new digs, developed one of the best keepers in the league, and cashed in on the transfer of one of their best players.

In other words, the Dynamo had put their former MLS Cup rivals in the rearview, as the Revolution were left to deal terrible runs of form, uneventful late-Octobers, a head coaching change, the signing/infiltration of a certain mustachioed ex-Dynamo center back, and a hasty trade of their skipper, among many, many other not-so-great things since the 2-1 win in Houston.

But all of the above made no difference on Saturday.

It was astonishing to watch. For 90 minutes, the Revolution played with poise and confidence, a certain level of swagger that isn’t often seen by teams who’ve only won two of their first 10. The Dynamo, for their part, appeared capable, only to have their form betray them as they got closer to the net. Putting it another way: the Revolution played like the Dynamo and the Dynamo played like the Revolution.

The question, of course, is whether the Revolution sustain the form they employed on Saturday night. Beating the Dynamo in Houston was an impressive feat, no doubt about it. But they can’t be tricked into thinking that, as big as the victory feels right now, they’ve accomplished anything more than picking up three points.

It was fitting that Lee Nguyen and Andrew Farrell ran into Scott Disick on Sunday. For if anyone’s career is cautionary tale of tricking oneself into a false sense of accomplishment, it’s Lord Disick’s.

One Kardashian reference is oftentimes one Kardashian reference too many, so let’s salvage this spiel by getting to the nitty gritty of what we learned from Saturday’s game.

1. It may be too early to say for sure, but it sure looks like Juan Agudelo is making Jerry Bengston expendable.  We all know what Agueldo would bring when the Revs acquired him earlier this month. We knew he’d bring a skill set the club was in dire need of given its attack, which was essentially catatonic at the time of his arrival. What we didn’t know how quickly Bengtson would be cast out to make way for the talented 20-year-old. During his 55-minute performance, Agudelo pretty much did what Bengtson had failed to do during the first few weeks of the season: create scoring opportunities. Given that Dimitry Imbongo got his second straight start and Bengtson failed to find the field at all, it’s appears that Bengtson’s days are numbered in Foxboro.

2. Diego Fagundez may have had a career game last week, but his performance against Houston could be a career-defining one. Over the past three seasons, we’ve watched Fagundez show flashes of brilliance. Moments in which we were teased by the teenaged playmaker’s abilities. The question, of course, was whether he could sustain it for more than game or two at a time. In recent weeks, he’s done well to ease any fears about his development, and has served as one of the team’s most dangerous players. But on Saturday, with the spotlight shining on him and his mohawk, he rose to the occasion, and essentially put to rest any questions about his role going forward.

3. The defense may have given up a ton of shots, but the way their gameplan ensured that most were of the low-percentage variety. On paper, Saturday’s win will go down as another clean sheet posted by the Revolution defense. A performance that the defenders will cash in as another measure of success. However, the real success can be found in the approach the defense adopted against the Dynamo’s prolific attack. Whenever the hosts entered the Revs’ defensive third, the defenders gave them a choice: shoot now or get the ball taken away. They dictated how the likes of Will Bruin and Giles Barnes made their moves. Note: anytime you can pull the strings on an opposing team’s attack, half the battle is already won. Yes, it wasn’t exactly a lights-out kind of performance by the Revolution backline. And yes, Bobby Shuttleworth may have had to plug a few holes. But the fact is the gameplan got the job done.

4. Speaking of the defense, Saturday’s performance was a reminder how important it is to have depth in the rear. Perhaps the most impressive part of Saturday’s shutout was the fact that it was orchestrated in part by two players who as recently as a month ago hadn’t played a single minute this season. While Stephen McCarthy has stepped in admirably for an injured A.J. Soares over the last few games, Darrius Barnes did his part on Saturday to show why he’s still a valuable piece to the defensive puzzle. Filling in for Chris Tierney out on the left, the versatile defender helped keep the Dynamo relatively quiet in front of their home fans. The moral of the story: you can never have too many quality defenders on your roster.

5. The Revolution played an inspired brand of football to be sure, but they were greatly aided by a Dynamo side that played right into their hands. We don’t know what Jay Heaps told his charges prior to Saturday’s game, but it’s probably a safe bet that the Dynamo’s collective state of mind was introduced. After all, Houston was no longer its unbeatable self at home after Sporting K.C. conquered them last week. And so the Revolution wisely anticipated that the Dynamo would bring a renewed energy to the pitch, and tailored their gameplan accordingly. Instead of a direct approach, they renewed their focus on the possession game, with the idea that it would tire out a team anxious to expend energy. They didn’t wait for Houston to make mistakes, but rather, took the initiative and pressed high. They baited the Dynamo into thinking this was still their game, even though it really wasn’t. Fagundez and his supporting cast deserve kudos for the win, but the fact is the Dynamo allowed its desperation to overwhelm them against an inferior team.

5 Comments