Bruce Arena didn't need to be prodded, he didn't need to be pushed. The New York Red Bulls boss had no problem voicing his displeasure with his team's performance in a 2-0 loss Wednesday night to the New England Revolution at Giants Stadium.
"My frustration is with the team on the field tonight," Arena said. "They played poorly in large segments of the game, had too many mental breakdowns. The technical breakdowns happened but it seems like it has been a struggle since I've been here as well as obviously the season."
Of particular concern for Arena was his team's lackluster play in the opening 20 minutes. The Revs took the game to the hosts and took a deserved 1-0 lead after 16 minutes on a play that started with a quick restart by Joe Franchino on a midfield foul by Dema Kovalenko. New England's Andy Dorman ran into space and sent a cross that took a deflection off Seth Stammler in the box.
New York's Taylor Graham attempted to clear, but whiffed and Steve Ralston laid the ball back to Taylor Twellman, who beat Red Bulls goalkeeper Jon Conway from eight yards out for his team-leading 10th goal of the year.
"I don't think we gave ourselves a chance in the first 20 minutes to be a team that could try to take the initiative in the game," Arena said. "Shocking display on the ball, lack of confidence by our players in the first 20 minutes."
Arena also didn't hold his tongue when it came to his star players. He replaced captain Amado Guevara with rookie Blake Camp in the 77th minute because of the Honduran's play, not because the midfielder was one yellow card away from a one-game ban.
"I don't think Amado played particularly well," Arena said. "He didn't help us on either side of the ball tonight."
Guevara, to his credit, didn't disagree with Arena's assessment. He also didn't leave the bench when he was taken off, which was the case under Mo Johnson against Chicago earlier in the season.
"Not only Bruce Arena saw that [our play was poor], we noticed it," Guevara said. "We [faced] this question many times but really we don't know what's happened to us. That's the truth.
"I didn't play very well, personally," he added. "I don't feel comfortable with that."
Arena brought Kovalenko back in MLS to provide bite in the midfield and for much-needed leadership. But he, too, struggled against a New England team that he doesn't believe is better than the Red Bulls, despite the Revs' six-point edge in the Eastern Conference standings.
"I don't think they're better than us, this team. I really don't," Kovalenko said of the Revs. "I think D.C. is a better team, Chicago may be a little better. But, I don't think [the Revolution] are better than us."
If there is a positive out of the disheartening loss, it was the play of newly-signed Austrian midfielder Markus Schopp. He came on at halftime, replacing an ineffective Chris Henderson on the right side and was instantly the Red Bulls most effective attacking player.
"I thought he showed that he his going to be a quality player, however we realize this year that it is going to be hard to get him to a point where he is going to play 90 minutes," Arena said. "He's a player that we think next year is going to be important for us. We're obviously going to try and get as much out of him as we can this year."
As dismal as things appear for the Red Bulls -- and it does look bad heading into D.C. on Saturday to play a United side that they are 0-2-2 against this year, including a 3-1 U.S. Open Cup loss -- they are still only one point behind fourth-place Kansas City, a team they will play at home in the final game of the season.
"We're still in it, we still have four games left -- two home games and two away games -- and now we're going to see what this team is made of," Kovalenko said. "We're only one point behind Kansas City. We just have to go to D.C. and every game is going to be like that, every game is going to be a fight, every game is going to be a tough game."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
