Following his team’s 2-0 loss to D.C. United, and a 90th-minute ejection from referee Jorge Gonzalez, New England Revolution coach Jay Heaps was left looking for answers on Saturday night on many fronts.
Not long after Charlie Davies picked up a yellow caution for a dive late in the game, Heaps was removed from the bench, but was unsure why.
“There was no reason given,” Heaps told reporters in a conference call when asked why he was removed from the game. “I’m still trying to piece together exactly what happened.”
An own-goal in the 43rd minute off of a misplayed clear in front of the net from captain José Gonçalves put New England on their heels going into halftime and set a tone for how they would respond.
“It was a really unfortunate bounce,” said Heaps. “Up to that point, I thought [Gonçalves] was amazing and one of the best players on the field. In the second half, defensively he made some great plays and I thought he reacted well.”
The own-goal and the physical nature of the things may have knocked the Revolution off their game plan as they entered the second half.
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Despite controlling possession, New England showed a tendency to send long balls up the field instead of setting up a proper attack, to the chagrin of their coach.
“Unfortunately, going into halftime down a goal, we really came out in the second half and I thought we pressed too quickly,” said Heaps. “I thought we were a little too direct in the second half. I wish we tried to play the game a little bit better.”
The match featured four yellow cards and 28 fouls, many of the hard variety, including a blatant spikes-up challenge by Lewis Neal that connected with the back of Andrew Farrell's leg.
With their fourth road match over their first five games of the season in the books, the Revolution will return home a bit battered and with nothing added to the points column.
“I thought overall that their two center backs were strong and physical, but I thought ours were strong and physical,” Heaps said. “It’s a little disappointing to come out of this place and not have anything to show for it.”
