New England probably sealed its exit from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when it piled every available healthy player onto the bus for Wednesday night's 3-0 defeat at New York, and could only reach 14.
The difficult situation, however, didn't mean the Revs traveled down Interstate 95 with the intention of meekly ending their participation in the play-in rounds. A determined, if limited, effort against the Red Bulls suggested the Revolution accomplished its goal, even if the end product did not lead to further participation in the tournament.
“It was always going to be hard anyway,” Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. “We have no centerbacks. We have two subs. It was always going to be difficult, but we'd rather lose by losing proper goals rather than losing goals that shouldn't be.”
Nicol expressed concerns about both the Red Bulls’ first and second goals. Conor Chinn may have strayed offside in the buildup to John Wolyniec's 36th minute opener, and Nicol felt an offside New York player interfered with debutant goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth before Sinisa Ubiparipovic's 62nd minute strike.
Once those two goals hit the back of the net, the Revs could find no plausible way back into the contest. Muddling through the first half with striker Kheli Dube in a holding midfield role and Pat Phelan and Chris Tierney playing in central defense for the injured Darrius Barnes (right midfoot sprain) and Cory Gibbs (right quadriceps strain) suggests they did the best they could until Wolyniec’s opening tally.
With all of the injuries and with a host of players already playing out of position, New England needed to achieve two things on its maiden trip to Red Bull Arena: submitting a solid effort and avoiding any injury setbacks.
“I think that was the most important thing,” Tierney said after his side managed to avoid any serious injuries on the night. “Our focus is on the league. The more healthy bodies we have for selection on Saturday, the better.”
Exiting the Open Cup allows New England to train its gaze on snapping its five-match winless streak (0-4-1) in league play when San Jose visits Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. In order to recuperate in time to face the surging Earthquakes, Revolution midfielder Khano Smith said his side will have relax and forget about its Open Cup dismissal.
“Everybody just needs to put their feet up,” Smith said. “Going out this early might be a blessing. We've got beaucoup games coming up.”
