Revs Squander Massive Lead Late
- Updated: April 30, 2017
Photo credit: Nick Danielson/Prost Amerika
Juan Agudelo bagged a brace and Daigo Kobayashi tallied from distance, but the Revolution squandered a commanding lead in Saturday’s 3-3 draw against defending champion Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
Kobayashi opened the account when he unleashed a shot from 35 yards that Stefan Frei misplayed before it squirted into the back of the net in the l5th minute. Agudelo widened the margin when he got in front of Cristian Roldan on a Kelyn Rowe cross to bury it in the 26th minute to make it a two-goal game going into halftime.
Agudelo scored his second goal of the match in the 54th minute on a ball from Diego Fagundez, which found the Revolution striker unmarked at the far post.
Seattle, which hit the woodwork no fewer than three times on Saturday, eventually found paydirt in the 75th minute when Nicolas Lodeiro ripped a shot that deflected into the back of the net.
But they didn’t stop there: Will Bruin netted a second Seattle goal in the 85th minute before Ozzie Alonso scored an improbable equalizer in the 88th minute to level a match that was 3-0 in favor of New England going into the final stages.
With the draw, the Revolution blew their best chance at claiming their first victory in Seattle since 2009 and went to 2-3-4 (10 points). Seattle’s remarkable comeback allowed them to extend their home unbeaten streak to 13 games as their mark went to 2-2-4 (10 points).
What it means: There was nothing wrong with the Revolution offense on Saturday. Now the defense? That was an entirely different story. Even before Seattle’s feverish comeback in the waning stages, the hosts managed to beat Cody Cropper on at least three occasions before he was bailed out by the woodwork. Seattle’s shots off the bar and posts should have served as wakeup calls for New England, but the guests failed to make the necessary adjustments. After the Revolution offense dominated the first 70 minutes, the defense was completely decimated by the likes of Nicolas Lodeiro and Will Bruin, who combined to score two of Seattle’s three – yes, three – unanswered goals in the final 15 minutes. Contrary to what the local broadcast tandem claimed, a team that concedes three unanswered goals in a road draw does not earn a point. Rather, it drops two of them, no matter who the opponent is or where the match is played.
Kamara and Tierney unavailable: The Revolution were without two veterans in Kei Kamara and Chris Tierney on Saturday. Kamara remained in Boston with his wife, who is expected to give birth this weekend while Tierney missed the match due to hip irritation. With Kamara and Tierney unable to aid the Revolution cause, the squad brought rookie forward Brian Wright and veteran left back Je-Vaughn Watson for the trip.
Angoua gets nod over Josh Smith: In what appears to be a platoon system at the center back spot opposite Antonio Mlinar Delamea, veteran Benjamin Angoua was given the start over rookie Josh Smith a week after the latter was in the XI. In the Revolution’s last four games, including Saturday’s, Angoua and Smith have each started twice.
Next up: Following Saturday’s wild draw, the Revolution head to Columbus to face Crew SC on Saturday, May 6 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Kickoff is 7:30pm. Last year, the Revolution went 1-2-0 against their fellow MLS Original club.
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