FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – On a different night and in a different season, New England may have emerged from Saturday night's 2-1 defeat with San Jose with a positive result.
Instead, the same old flaws – a couple of untimely errors at the back and a lack of incisiveness at the front – turned this potential boost against the Earthquakes into yet another frustrating defeat.
WATCH: Full Match Highlights
“I thought we controlled the game quite well for the majority of the minutes,” Revolution midfielder Ryan Guy told MLSsoccer.com after the match. “It's the story of our season, unfortunately: a few mistakes and not enough goals in the back of the net.”
Chris Wondolowski's opener – procured with a deft touch after David Bingham's long punt up field – drew a furious response from Revolution coach Steve Nicol on the team's television broadcast and once again forced the home side to restore parity.
Benny Feilhaber eventually supplied the equalizer ten minutes after halftime to cap off a mad scramble, the midfielder’s fourth goal of the year. But the dearth of quality chances after that strike – save for a stoppage-time sitter for Milton Caraglio – left the Revs wondering whether they could have given themselves more opportunities to claim the lead and carve out some breathing room.
“We did well to come back, move the ball well and create our own chances in this game,” Revolution defender Darrius Barnes said. “It's just a matter of finishing off that touch and being sharper on both ends. We have to be better. That's just what it comes down to.”
While the Revs weren’t sharp, the 2010 Golden Boot winner was. Wondolowski capped off a fine move with a back-post header to climb to the top of the MLS goalscoring charts and send the Revs hurtling to a fourth straight defeat.
With just two games left in the season, the Revs must find some way to alter the same old story and figure out a way to create some momentum heading into 2012.
“We're not good enough right now,” Barnes said. “Hopefully, we can finish off these next two games off on a solid note and change things around from the way it's been the majority of the season.”
