KENNESAW, Ga. – The promising signs piled up before the New England Revolution entered Wednesday night's friendly against Columbus.
In four matches – including one against the Crew – prior to the opener of the Atlanta Pro Soccer Challenge, the Revs racked up four wins and allowed just one goal in 360 minutes of preseason action.
The impetus from those positive results in Florida didn't carry over into the 3-1 defeat to Columbus on a wet night in suburban Atlanta. Instead of building upon the foundation constructed in Orlando, the Revs abandoned it altogether in a performance that left coaches and players unhappy with the showing.
“Unfortunately, it's a good lesson to have,” Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis told MLSsoccer.com after the defeat. “We've had a lot of success so far in the preseason and, sometimes, you get a little too big for your britches. This will bring us back down to earth.”
The disappointing defeat should also serve as a reminder that plenty of work still remains before the trip to Los Angeles on March 20. Revolution coach Steve Nicol said there wasn't much for him to take from a performance that lacked sharpness in every facet of the game.
“There really wasn't an awful lot that was really positive,” Nicol said. “I thought Matt Reis did OK. He was probably the only one. It was just a classic preseason game. We weren't there. We gave the ball away. It just wasn't good.”
Although the effort and the result did not match the level established by previous four preseason outings, it does underscore the need for additional application ahead of Sunday's preseason finale against Houston at KSU Soccer Stadium.
“[The loss] shakes it up,” Reis said. “You can't just show up because you beat them the other day. The hardest thing to do is beat a team twice in a row. We have to come out and show up for 90-plus minutes. We didn't do that.”
The date with the Dynamo will give the Revs a chance to atone for Wednesday's performance and set the tone going forward with the season quickly approaching, according to Nicol.
“We play Sunday, so it gives everybody a chance to put it behind them and move on,” Nicol said.
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