AMD: Every Game ‘a Final’ for 10th-place Revs
- Updated: August 23, 2017
Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com
The likelihood of the 10th-place Revolution reaching MLS Cup is essentially on equal footing as the prospect of Stephen Gostkowski starting up top against D.C. But Saturday’s match is nevertheless getting the trophy game treatment by the locals.
With the season fading fast, and the view of the red line diminishing with each defeat, Revolution center back Antonio Delamea believes each of the remaining 10 matches should be filed as a winner-take-all affair.
“Every next game is like a final for us,” Delamea told the media Tuesday. “We know we need to win almost every game from now on, there’s no more time for excuses, no more time for bad performances, and we really need to start to improve our mentality.”
New England enters the D.C. match with a 16 percent chance of reaching the postseason according to Five Thirty Eight‘s MLS Club Soccer Predictions. And last weekend’s defeat at New York City was another example of why the Revolution are on the outside – the far outside – looking in.
After Teal Bunbury helped the Revolution get the jump on their conference foes, the lead vanished in the latter stages. An untracked David Villa leveled it in the 77th minute before another defensive blunder opened the door for Jonathan Lewis to steal the game-winner in stoppage time.
“I think our heads aren’t on the same level for the whole match,” Delamea said. “We really struggle after [the] 75th minute, not just this game, every road game [it’s the] same problem. I think it’s not the problem in football, but much more in our heads. This is a really big problem that we are dealing with right now, I just hope we will learn something from this as quick as possible and try to turn things around.”
Learning is one thing. Putting the lesson into practice is another. For there’s no doubt the locals know the root of their struggles. In fact, Delamea’s sentiment about staying focused for 90 minutes has been raised by just about everyone from coach Jay Heaps to Kelyn Rowe to (possibly) Slyde the Fox.
But Saturday’s match could be the club’s best opportunity yet to turn those words into action. D.C. enters the match in dead last. And while they were decidedly active during the transfer window, the fact is their sights are clearly set on next season.
Even so, the winless-on-the-road Revolution can’t afford to overlook United in the slightest.
“We have to go in there, we have to respect them, but we have to go in there having the belief that we can definitely score some goals on them, because we’re defending well,” Revolution striker Kei Kamara told the media Tuesday. “Hopefully, we’re able to get full points from them.”
Whether the Revolution are capable of pitching a complete game on the road – where they’ve gone 0-9-3 this season – against the worst team in the conference is anyone’s guess at this point. They haven’t won in D.C. since 2013, and United heads into Saturday’s showdown fresh off surprising back-to-back victories over Colorado and Atlanta.
To that end, Saturday’s match should have the feel of a final for the Revolution. While they’ve made a number of memorable postseason pushes from the brink over the years, a loss in the nation’s capital could make any thought of another autumn-time run all for naught.
“We really struggle and we need to find a solution as soon as possible,” Delamea said. “Because we are losing points, unnecessary points, and it really hurts us.”
Related Posts
About Brian O'Connell
One Comment