Revs’ Offense Coming Together
- Updated: February 19, 2017
Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz
The final score may have told a different story, but the scenes that unfolded during extended stretches of Saturday’s preseason contest against Colorado suggest the Revolution attack is quickly finding its rhythm this winter.
To wit, the Revolution registered no fewer than four dangerous chances during the first half against a first-team Rapids selection. Not surprisingly, it was the usual suspects – Lee Nguyen, Kei Kamara, Juan Agudelo, and Kelyn Rowe – who led the charge.
“I think the chemistry’s coming,” Heaps told the media after the 3-1 loss. “There were some real positives. The scoreline was difficult, but in the end, I thought there were some real positives we have to take from it, but with a lot of learning experiences to go with it.”
The biggest positive: the movement and ideas displayed by the front four less than a month removed from the start of camp. With support from fullback Chris Tierney, the Revolution used short passes and quick movements to put the Rapids on their heels.
Nguyen and Fagundez weaved their way through the central channel while Agudelo and Kamara – a tandem that showed promise down the stretch last season – succeeded in making themselves attractive targets close to goal.
Despite missing the club’s first five preseason games due to U.S. National Team duty and minor facial injury, Agudelo hardly missed a beat. In the 19th minute, he poked through a pass from Antonio Delamea to give his squad the opening goal.
“We got a little bit of a taste of what we’re going to see in March,” Nguyen told the media after the match. “Attacking-wise, there were some flashes of good stuff. We’ve just got to finish those chances. We created a lot of chances, so that was good.”
Indeed, as stealth as the attack looked on Saturday, chances were unquestionably left on the pitch. Kamara whiffed on a wide-open opportunity in the 29th minute while Agudelo and Nguyen both teased Revolution supporters with scintillating shots that missed their targets.
“We could’ve been a little cleaner in front of goal,” Heaps said, “and finished our chances and not have to deal with the elements in the second half – be ahead enough where you can deal with it.”
Those wasted efforts, as innocent as they may have seemed in the early stages, came back to the bite the Revolution before the break. Colorado scored twice in a two-minute span during the twilight of the first half, and with the wind and rain at flying in the faces of Revolution players during the second half, the ease in which the locals found opportunities early on became a distant memory after the halftime talk.
Even so, Heaps sees the early showing as a promising development for a team that will need to avoid the attacking hijinx that have hindered the squad’s form out of the gate in recent years.
“Getting them all on same page is key,” Heaps said. “I thought for a good 35 minutes there, we were all on the same page.”
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