Revs See Stars Following 5-1 Loss to Galaxy

Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com

The Revolution’s mid-season losing skid went to six straight on Wednesday night when they ran into a dominating L.A. Galaxy squad in a 5-1 defeat at the Stubhub Center in Carson, California.

Robbie Keane led the Galaxy with two goals and two assists, while Gyasi Zardes contributed to the Galaxy’s attack with two goals of his own. A deflected free kick from Stefan Ishizaki and a well-taken penalty also added to the final score.

The Revolution conceded the first goal for the sixth consecutive game when Robbie Keane scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 10th minute on a long-range shot that was perfectly placed in the far corner. The Revolution quickly conceded again just eight minutes later when Keane set up Gyasi Zardes with a well-placed low shot to the near post, putting the Galaxy up 2-0.

Although the Revolution wouldn’t concede again in the half, the competitive portion of the match seemed to end when A.J. Soares was given a straight card in the 29th minute for clipping Juninho on a studs-first foul. Although the game had not even reached the 30 minute mark, the Revolution were faced with a severe disadvantage.

Despite being down a man, the Revolution were given new life in the 36th minute when Teal Bunbury got around his defender, Dan Gargan, in the LA Galaxy box and was brought down from behind. Not only were the Revolution’s recently struggling offense given a penalty kick, but Gargan was given a straight red card and the Galaxy’s man advantage was suddenly gone. Lee Nguyen, returning from his one game suspension served on Saturday night, converted the penalty, making him a perfect 4-for-4 in penalties this year.

The Galaxy quickly re-established control of the game in the 48th minute when Zardes scored his second goal on the night making it 3-1 Galaxy. Keane got his second assist on the night as he swung a low cross from the left wing, finding Zardes in the six-yard box where he one-timed the ball past Revolution keeper Bobby Shuttleworth. It was Zardes’ first multi-goal game in MLS competition and now gives him six goals in eight MLS matches this year.

The Revolution made two substitutions in the 57th minute in an effort to create offense, replacing Diego Fagundez and Partick Mullins with Steve Neumann and Jerry Bengtson. The final sub came in the 69th minute when Revolution coach Jay Heaps substituted defender Darrius Barnes for Daigo Kobayashi, a midfielder, while switching to a 3-5-1.

However, minutes after the final Revolution substitution, Stefan Ishizaki’s free kick took a Galaxy bounce off the wall of Revolution defenders and perfectly over Shuttleworth, giving the home side a 4-1 lead. Moments later, the Revolution dug themselves even further when miscommunication turned what was supposed to be a back-pass to the defense into a Robbie Keane breakaway. Shuttleworth unsuccessfully charged Keane, who briskly moved around him and scored his second goal of the night on an empty Revolution net.

The Revolution couldn’t seem to create quality chances in the final 10 minutes of the game, with the best effort coming from a long strike from the right side of the box by Kelyn Rowe which just went over the bar. The Galaxy almost extended the damage in the final minutes when Chandler Hoffman received a through ball into the box, cut inside around Jose Goncalves, and had a clear shot on goal, but Shuttleworth was able to put a glove on the ball and turn the shot aside.

The Galaxy continue their hot streak and are now undefeated in eight straight games. The opposite can be said for the Revolution, who drop their sixth consecutive game in MLS competition. The losing streak also represents the longest losing streak in Jay Heaps’ coaching career with the Revolution, surpassing a five-game drought seen during the middle of the 2012 season.

The Revolution will take another shot at ending their losing skid with the second half of their two-game road trip when they visit FC Dallas this Saturday at 9 pm.