New England Soccer Today

Three Thoughts: #NEvCHI

Jermaine-1

Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com

The Revolution beat the Fire 2-1 on Sunday, and in the process, extended their unbeaten streak to five (4-0-1). Here are three quick-hit thoughts on the match.

1. Consecutive comeback wins: Sunday night’s win marked just the fourth time this season that the Revolution have won a game despite being down one goal. However, what’s perhaps most significant is that they’ve accomplished this twice in a row. The Revolution’s mental game has looked fragile throughout the season, evident by their 2-11-1 record when their opponents score first. That’s changed, at least in the short term, with these two latest results. That’s probably the most encouraging sign that no one’s paying attention to with the playoffs right around the corner. Tactically and technically strong teams don’t make the playoffs and perform there. You have to be smart and have a solid mental fortitude, too.

2. Jones goes close to all the way: It was surprising to see Jermaine Jones essentially go 90 minutes after going just one half only five days ago. Typically, coach Jay Heaps leans on the side of caution when a player is working on regaining fitness. Prior to the game, Jones said Heaps asked if he could handle more than 70 minutes. Clearly, the answer to this question was yes. Blame Jones’ lapse on the Nyassi break on the turf or at worst just forgive him for the mistake. Aside from the exquisite ball he played Davies on the go-ahead strike, he was a leader on the field. Could Jones be the reason why the Revolution have come from behind twice in a row?

3. Don’t get too excited yet: As encouraging as it is that the Revolution are suddenly winning and in a playoff spot, there’s still plenty of time for things to go wrong. For one, four of their next seven are on the road, where the Revolution have been mediocre at best. Second, this is the year of streaks. Teams can be amazingly good one week, then suddenly become agonizingly bad the next. Just take a look at MLS’s results map on mlssoccer.com. Few teams haven’t gone through the highest of the highs and lowest of the lows this season. The Revolution certainly have. It would be catastrophic to see this team hit another snide, especially since they’ve played so well in recent weeks.

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