Revolution 0, Red Bulls 1: Three Thoughts

Sunday wasn't a good day for the New England Revolution, as they suffered a 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls. The Revs, who haven't scored in 361 minutes, were undone by a Bradley Wright-Phillips strike in the second half. What can we say about the loss? Let's take a look.

1. Poor, poor defending led to the goal. Clearly focused on maintaining their defensive shape, the Revs went 55 minutes before conceding a goal. When the breakthrough finally came, it was delivered by notorious scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips. The moments leading to the tally don’t belong on any highlight reels. First, Andrew Farrell coughs up the ball. Next, Jose Goncalves makes a failed attempt at a clearance and gets muscled by Alex Muyl. Muyl’s shot is saved by Brad Knighton but an unmarked Wright-Phillips is there to put away the rebound. Simply put, it was poor, poor defending.

2. What happened to that stellar counter-attack style? After the Revs’ season opener against the Houston Dynamo, I warned that teams should "beware of the Revolution when they’re on the counter." This wasn’t anything new, as the Revs had long been good at hitting on the break while conceding possession. Things have certainly changed as the team now looks sluggish in their attacking third. Against the Red Bulls, a prime opportunity to push forward was effectively killed by Kei Kamara. In other instances, Teal Bunbury took too many touches, which allowed opposing defenders to close him down. As of right now, no one should be worried about the Revs when they’re on the counter.

3. Let’s find some positives. So, the Revs haven’t won since July 23 and haven’t scored since August 6. Those are some pretty grim stats. Regardless, it’s worth noting that Brad Knighton and Juan Agudelo have looked good recently. Knighton has made some crucial stops since grabbing the number one spot, showing that he deserves to be in-between the pipes for the foreseeable future. Agudelo has also been quite good, providing a lot of energy up top. Agudelo has been particularly useful as a second striker, helping relieve pressure felt by Kamara.