It\u2019s never easy for a team to play without its leader. That proved to be the case on Saturday as the New England Revolution were unable to compensate for the absence of Shalrie Joseph in a 2-1 loss to D.C. United.<\/p>\n
Joseph, the Revs\u2019 midfield general for the past decade, was forced to sit out the match after the MLS Disciplinary Committee issued a retroactive suspension on April 10 for a tackle he committed in the Revs 1-0 loss to FC Dallas on April 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think (not having Shalrie Joseph) hurt us,\u201d head coach Jay Heaps said after the loss on Saturday. \u201cShalrie is our leader and in situations like today when we were a little bit wayward at times, it would\u2019ve been nice to have that guy in there. Bring the troops together, bring the players in line. I mean it shows you what he brings out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though New England\u2019s offense had plenty of opportunities, the home team was never really able to control the tempo of the game after taking an early lead through Jose Moreno. D.C. ended up taking advantage of the back-and-forth game to score two goals and grab the victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a bright start, but that was about it until the second half,\u201d said Heaps. \u201cWe just, the first half I was pretty disappointed in the way we performed. We just couldn\u2019t get a rhythm, couldn\u2019t get our game.\u201d<\/p>\n
That the Revs couldn\u2019t get a rhythm should not come as too great of a surprise. New England often relies heavily on Joseph to calm the game down and dictate the pace of transition from defense to offense.<\/p>\n
Without Joseph and with Benny Feilhaber unfit to start, the burden was placed on Clyde Simms and rookie Kelyn Rowe to try to settle the game in the center. Against a side with D.C.\u2019s attacking quality, that proved a tough task.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s times where we tried to go forward, forward, forward and a lot of times when Shalrie\u2019s in the game, he\u2019s the one that connects from one side to the other and we missed that a little bit tonight,\u201d said Simms after the match. \u201cI think that\u2019s what would have tired them out a little bit and killed them. But we\u2019ll learn from it and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joseph\u2019s composure in the midfield benefits the entire team and it was made obvious by the effect his absence had on Saturday. For just the second time this season the Revs passing accuracy (67%) fell below 70%. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only other time the Revs failed to complete such a large number of their passes came in the Revs 1-0 win over the Portland Timber when Joseph was forced to play in the backline due to injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously Shalrie being out creates a bit of a problem for us and we missed his ability to control the tempo of the game,\u201d said Revs \u2018keeper Matt Reis. \u201cI think they came at us with a little bit of pressure and that kind of disrupted us a bit. We really could\u2019ve used him putting his foot on the ball, but that being said we knew he wasn\u2019t going to be there and we didn\u2019t do a very adjusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
While barring an injury, the Revs should have Joseph back when they return to action on April 28 with a trip to face the New York Red Bulls, the team now has a two week break between games to learn from the mistakes made on Saturday. With a few players carrying minor knocks, others like Benny Feilhaber just making their returns from injuries and still some like Bjorn Runstrom just joining the team, those two weeks come at a key time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been quite a few guys they have got small injuries and some other guys that are starting to come back like myself,\u201d said Feilhaber. \u201cWe have two weeks getting fitness back and really being ready for a big game against New York is really important for us. It comes at the right time.\u201d
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