Heaps: DDC Final ‘Not Our Best Game’
- Updated: February 28, 2016
Photo credit: New England Revolution
No matter how you slice it, winning a trophy – even one for a preseason tournament – is cause for celebration. Just don’t expect Revolution coach Jay Heaps to bask in the glow of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crew SC in the Desert Diamond Cup final for long.
Sure, Heaps was pleased with the chances his offense generated. And yes, he seemed happy with the way trialist Je-Vaughn Watson performed.
But as you might expect from the perfectionist coach, there was plenty of room for improvement.
“For me, the reality was we weren’t quick enough to get out defensively in the first 15 to 20 minutes of that second half,” Heaps told the media after the match. “They had a lot more possession than us, and that’s something we don’t like seeing that much.”
The slow break following the halftime orange slices nearly allowed Columbus to get even after conceding a 21st minute Teal Bunbury goal.
Kei Kamara and Ethan Finlay tested the Revolution defense with dangerous shots in quick succession in the 58th minute. Finlay came back for more in the 64th minute on an effort that whistled by the woodwork.
The Revolution were truly put to the test in the 74th minute when Tony Tchani nodded a powerful header that required Bobby Shuttleworth to quickly spring off his line to deny.
“In terms of chances, it felt like everything they got was floated balls in or shots from distance,” Heaps said, “which we dealt with all right.”
Although the live stream of Saturday’s match may have quit in the dying moments, the Revolution did just the opposite in Heaps’ estimation.
“It was, by far, not our best game in the tournament,” Heaps said.”But I thought we battled really well, and didn’t give away any real, clear chances at the end there.”
Related Posts
About Brian O'Connell
