Last season, the Revolution consistently figured out ways to win games. Now, the opposite seems to be happening.
The Revolution sustained a 3-1 loss at Charlotte FC Saturday night, their third successive defeat in all competitions, marking them as the first team to lose to the North Carolina expansion franchise.
Polish striker Karol Swiderski scored twice in a wide-open match, the pace of the game normally one that would favor the Revolution. But the Revolution, playing without strikers Gustavo Bou and Adam Buksa, struggled to rally after surrendering an early goal.
The Revolution (1-2-1, 4 points), who will be off during an international break before hosting the New York Red Bulls April 2, were playing their third game in eight days. Charlotte (1-3-0, 3 points) appeared vulnerable, but after goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina surrendered a penalty kick early in the second half, he made a stop on a point-blank header from Matt Polster to preserve the lead.
Swiderski opened the scoring from just above the penalty arc, finishing inside the left post past Earl Edwards Jr. in the sixth minute. Swiderski rolled the ball onto his left foot and fired away before Jon Bell and Sebastian Lletget could close in, leaving Edwards no chance.
Carles Gil equalized with a penalty kick after Polster was taken down by Kahlina. Referee Marcos De Oliveira cautioned Kahlina, and Revolution sporting director/head coach Bruce Arena appeared to appeal for a red card, since Kahlina could have been considered the last defender denying an obvious scoring opportunity.
Three minutes later, Swiderski broke the deadlock with another left-foot drive. Swiderski set up the sequence by sealing off Jon Bell, then followed the play as Brian Bender took possession at the back post and laid off to Swiderski. Bender upped the lead on a breakaway after another back post run, finishing after Jordy Alcivar’s shot was deflected by Omar Gonzalez.
The match ended seconds after Gil hit the left post from long range, five minutes-plus into stoppage time.
Arena said the Revolution “deserved to lose” and also criticized the league’s execution of video review, days after he had been fined for statements regarding VAR.
Observations from Saturday’s game:
The Revolution’s aggressive defending led to the penalty kick, starting with Gonzalez advancing from central defense to pressure Daniel Rios well past the halfway line. Brandt Bronico’s pass was picked off by Emmanuel Boateng, then Polster went into the penalty area and was felled by a slide tackle (52d minute) that could have been a considered a red-card offense anywhere on the field. De Oliveira immediately raised a yellow card, and was surrounded by protesting Charlotte players. More than two minutes later, Gil sent the penalty kick into the right side of the net as Kahlina dived in the opposite direction.
“I think the fourth official was trying to tell me he [Polster] wasn’t going straight to goal and obviously he’s going around the goalkeeper,” Arena said. “It’s a red card. You know, I made a statement this week about the VAR in our league isn’t efficient. And I shouldn’t have said it’s the worst in the world — factually that would not be correct. But it needs to be better. What is the point of having VAR if you can’t review that play and say it should be a red card? I mean is it because they’re saying it would be double jeopardy, you get the penalty kick as well as the sending off? I don’t know what the explanation would be for that. I would say that was a big part of the game.”
Both teams’ roster include a left-foot Polish national team striker (Buksa and Swiderski). Buksa was rested after compiling 257 minutes in three games, plus another 180 in Champions League games against UNAM Pumas. Swiderski appeared fresh, having totaled 142 minutes in two games before Saturday.
The Revolution went with a 4-5-1 formation, Jozy Altidore lining up as a lone striker. Altidore went 90 minutes in his first Revolution start, threatening early with a header off a corner kick (18th minute) and half volley (21st), plus a late one-timer (83d) that was blocked by Christian Makoun off a Gil-DeJuan Jones combination. Justin Rennicks joined Altidore up top in the 72d minute and had a header saved (84th) off a Gil feed.
Playing without central defenders Andrew Farrell (upper body) and Henry Kessler (hamstring); goalkeeper Matt Turner (broken foot); plus Bou and Buksa, the Revolution started slowly, but found a rhythm early in the second half.
“Obviously, I thought at 1-1 we had momentum, we continued to play well and then we foolishly conceded the second goal and that hurt us,” Arena said. “I thought second half we played well. We conceded two goals which were in all honesty foolish. Give them credit. We had some chances in the second half.
“They were smart, they were smart realizing they could foul Carles Gil any time they wanted, probably get away with it. They played a smart game. We did not play a smart game. First goal we conceded was a poor effort on our part. And goals two and three we made a lot of mistakes there. You can’t concede three goals on the road and expect to win, so we deserved to lose.”
The Revolution’s attacking style can leave them vulnerable. Last season, the Revolution were able to overcome deficits, setting a league record with 18 one-goal victories. This year, the Revolution, 1-1 in one-goal matches, are facing a schedule that includes more West Coast trips, plus the CONCACAF Champions League and US Open Cup. The Revolution squandered a two-goal edge in falling, 3-2, to Real Salt Lake in snowstorm last Saturday, and fell, 3-0, to Pumas in Mexico City Wednesday.
“It’s just a tough stretch,” Boateng said. “We just had a tough two weeks. For sure, they were better than us today. They played better and their fans gave them the energy. But we should’ve stepped up. We made a few mistakes that cost us goals and that was the difference in the game. So we have to step up.”
Box score: Charlotte FC 3, Revolution 1
CHARLOTTE: Kristijan Kahlina; Jaylin Lindsey, Guzman Corujo, Christian Makoun, Christian Fuchs; Alan Franco, Ben Bender (Adam Armour 75th), Jordy Alcivar (Derrick Jones 75th), Brandt Bronico (Sergio Ruiz 65th); Daniel Rios (Cristian Ortiz 65th), Karol Swiderski (Anton Walkes 86th).
REVOLUTION: Earl Edwards Jr.; Brandon Bye, Omar Gonzalez, Jon Bell, DeJuan Jones; Carles Gil; Sebastian Lletget (Arnor Traustason 72d), Tommy McNamara, Matt Polster, Carles Gil, Emmanuel Boateng (Justin Rennicks 72d); Jozy Altidore.
Referee: Marcos DeOliveira. Goals: Swiderski 6th, 57th; Gil (PK) 54th, Bender 64th. Attendance: 29,318.
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March 20, 2022 at 10:22AM
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Bruce Arena says Revolution 'deserved to lose' in their third straight setback - The Boston Globe
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