Post-Game Hangover: Reflections On How The Revs Managed To Shoot Themselves In The Foot Yet Again And Make Me Cry And Punch Things (Revs @ Union)

This game was truly a microcosm of the best parts of our season: decent play and early leads that get thrown in the garbage by the end. What a miserable year to be a Revolution fan. The losing formula? "get a solid lead in the first half, let other team catch up in the second, give up in the last ten minutes", to quote my girlfriend. And she doesn't even particularly like soccer. THAT IS HOW OBVIOUS THIS TEAM'S DEMISE IS.

It hurts to relive this match. In many ways I wish it just never happened. Let's discuss some pros and cons shall we?

Pros: we passed the ball a little bit. Sure, we could still stand to pass the ball better. And considering that Philadelphia had somewhere around 60% possession in the first half, there's no doubt that we still have some somehow managed to stubbornly ignore the fact that possession is an important part of the game of soccer. Nevertheless, I did see a couple passes. A lot of them were a direct result of Monsef Zerka's involvement in the attack.

Here's a pro: Zerka is pretty clearly a first option on the right wing. I mean, would you disagree? He's the first sign of life I've seen just about all season that wasn't the result of just a pure panic. This guy knows how to maneuver in an offense.

I was glad to see Ryan Guy get an opportunity as a sub for Zerka, but he was quite disappointing. I'd still prefer a healthy Sainey Nyassi instead. But, for me, Ryan Guy has better touches than Zak Boggs and that makes him a better bench option right now, so I'm glad to see him get some game time. It was still whipped cream on horseshit (too little too late).

A.J. Soares gets his first MLS goal, quite deservedly. He looked like a magical ninja with confidence and finesse. He's perhaps one of the greatest things we've got going for us this year.

For the first time I think all season, I am behind Rajko Lekic's performance in this match. I know that he has gotten some criticism for his behavior when he was subbed out shortly into the 2^nd half, but you just simply cannot blame the guy for that. I realize that it is frowned upon to be visibly upset at your coach outside of the locker room, but Rajko was just simply exuding what all Revs fans were feeling at that moment, which was pure, unadulterated frustration and anger with Coach Nicol's decision to bunker down into the infamous defensive shell far too early in the game. At least McCarthy wasn't brought on, right?

Is there any other team in the world that can manage to lose a 3 goal lead? If so, can we please just play them from now on? I'm no longer convinced that we deserve to play in Major League Soccer. We need an overhaul. We need a drastic change. And I think we need to start with Stevie. And I know plenty of fans who'd agree.

As I've said in the past, the Philadelphia Union is one of my favorite soccer clubs to watch. They just play effective football. They play like a team and they make the most of their opportunities. The Revolution wouldn't know an opportunity if it kicked them in the cajones.

So, yeah, not too many pros available to go on about. Cons? There's too many for me to get into. And you can literally read any other blogger's reactions to this game. Check out the Boston Herald, Soccer By Ives, or any other New England soccer outlet for the same old story this season (or, of course, The Bent Musket's recap, if you haven't already read that yet).

I simply cannot go on. Just remember, we'll always have that first half... right? Possibly the only 45 minutes where Revs fans were offered a glimmer of hope for the future. We'll always have Paris....

Casablanca - We'll always have Paris (via TonyPerkins90)

Here's looking at you "kid" (read: ANYTHING else).

If you care to vent, do so below. We can get through this together. Maybe.