The New England Revolution’s playoff hopes are all but shot.
A 2-1 loss at Toyota Park to the Chicago Fire in the penultimate game of the season on Sunday afternoon all but sealed the Revolution’s fate.
Chicago actually set about knocking down the Revs’ chances of reaching the post-season early on in the contest. Michael De Leeuw emerged unmarked in the box to thump home a feed by Chicago’s Brandon Vincent in just the sixth minute.
And while the Revolution equalized just before halftime via a hard, low drive from Diego Fagundez, the hosts showed more fight in the second half to pull off the shock upset.
Consider that the Fire entered the match with the worst record in the league and that they were winless in their last seven. Fagundez leveling the score should have been enough to turn the momentum.
Chicago seemed like they were just shooting themselves in the foot once Luis Solignac earned a straight red from referee Baldomero Toledo for violent conduct in the 54th minute.
But the Revolution failed to make the most of their one-man advantage, which proved costly.
Toledo ejected Revs goalkeeper Brad Knighton in the 74th minute for obstructing David Accam after a giveaway, which forced New England coach Jay Heaps to bring on back-up shot-stopper Bobby Shuttleworth and pull defender Darrius Barnes, thus making it an even 10 on 10 game.
With the back line lacking a fourth defender, the Fire managed to stretch the field enough to score against the run of play off an a breakaway by Ghanaian forward David Accam in the 80th minute.
Here are three thoughts on all that transpired in Chicago on Sunday afternoon:
1. The Knighton red card sealed the deal
Never in a million years should Brad Knighton have been red carded. That ejection was a typical Baldomero Toledo call.
There was no excuse for Knighton to lose possession on the edge of the area, but he was essentially knocked down by Accam as he tried to recover the ball. A caution, maybe. But a red card? Harsh.
Knighton performed admirably during his time on the field. He made two big saves and is a leading cause for why the Revolution have been in the playoff chase this late in the season. That said, Knighton getting ejected forced Heaps to remove Darrius Barnes, which stretched the field enough for Accam to sneak in behind and score the game-winning goal.
Beyond that, scoring a second goal – both before and after Accam’s finish – was always going to be harder with 10 men on the road.
2. New England lacked energy from the start
The Revolution didn’t start this match off well in the slightest. They coughed up an early lead by allowing a soft, preventable goal to Michael De Leeuw, who was left completely unmarked in just the sixth minute.
From there, the Revs only managed a few half chances in addition to Fagundez’s goal and a shot from Kamara that hit the crossbar in the second half.
It doesn’t sit right that the worst team in the league out-shot the Revolution 14-12 and 5-6 in shots on target. Especially when the Revolution were playing for their playoff lives. The urgency did not seem to be there; not in the opening minutes when Chicago took the lead, or after they equalized, or in stoppage time when their post-season hopes dwindled with each passing second.
The sad part is that other teams around the league actually advanced the Revolution’s cause. Toronto scraped a 2-2 draw with Montreal on the road, while Orlando pulled off a shock upset against Philadelphia.
The outlook would have been so much better had the Revs won. They’d still be in seventh place, but on 40 points, just two behind Philadelphia for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
3. Start the off-season mindset now
But wait, the Revolution are still mathematically alive!
Technically yes, this is true. But the only way the Revolution can make the playoffs now is for them to beat the Montreal Impact next Sunday at Gillette Stadium by a score along the lines of 7-0. Meanwhile, the Union would have to lose next Sunday to the New York Red Bulls by the same margin.
So the Revs need to win and need Philadelphia to lose and need to make up a -14 goal differential to have a shot. It’s not happening.
That said, it’s time for the Revolution to take stack of their season, and see what went wrong. The obvious elephant in the room is their porous back line. As of Sunday’s loss to Chicago, they’ve given up 54 goals, the fourth-worst in both the conference and the league.
A lackluster back line has put more pressure on the attack, which has also been less than stellar. New England has scored only 41 times this season, which is in the bottom half in the entire league.
Shaking up tactics can go a long way in the thick of the regular season, but the players need to be there as well. The Revs need to add depth to their back line and probably add another holding midfielder and a playmaker to have a credible shot at making the playoffs next season.
Follow Julian on Twitter @juliancardillo
