Revolution’s lack of finishing touches proves to be a fatal flaw in their game

At best, the Revolution made a strong impression by defeating multiple playoff teams. Against Dynamo, they showed dynamic midfield play that sparked several counterattacks, with captain Carles Gil taking the lead. But when it comes to finishing, the Revolution has nothing on it.

Sometimes it’s because you can’t concentrate. In other cases, they lack self-confidence. Or it may be a matter of bad luck and/or timing, as with Bobby Wood’s deflection of a cross from Brandon Bye in the first half that went straight to Houston goalie Steve Clark.

“Nine times out of 10 it was a goal, especially given the way he took it,” Porter said. “Their goalkeeper made a good save. It somehow went right in the middle, so if it’s one meter further to the left or right, it’s a goal.”

Esmir Bajraktarevic and Alhassan Yusuf also missed their chances against Dynamo, with Porter citing inexperience and poor technique. Finally, the Revolution received their first penalty of the season and Gil equalized in the 54th minute.

However, most of the scoring burden should fall on the strikers and neither Giacomo Vrioni nor Wood have shown consistency. However, it should be noted that the Revolution’s lone striker setup is probably not the best lineup for either Vrioni or Wood.

The Revolution attackers’ priorities include leading the press and presenting a back-to-goal goal for the hold-up game. The destination spot is at the bottom of the list. Because it only has one striker in mind, defenders rarely lose track of the Revolution striker. For some players, being heavily guarded isn’t a big problem, but for the Revolution it is.

Despite this, Vrioni has scored nine goals and Wood has scored three goals in league play, which is better overall than the Dynamo’s best strikers – Ibrahim Aliyu (six goals) and Sebastian Ferreira (five), who spent part of the season on loan at Vasco da Gama in Brazil.

However, Dynamo decided in July that they needed another attacking threat and signed Ezequiel Ponce, who moved from AEK of Greece. The move paid off as Ponce scored a total of four goals in eight games, including the first against the Revolution.

Yes, the Revolution also tried to sign a striker during the summer transfer window, but that didn’t happen. Not that there’s been a shortage of strikers in the world, including Frantzdy Pierrot (formerly of Malden High School, Seacoast United, Northeastern), who has taken Ponce’s place in the AEK lineup.

One solution for the revolution could have been Christian Benteke, who scored a hat-trick for DC United against them earlier in the season. The Revolution and several other MLS teams turned down Benteke in 2022 before United finally completed the deal near the end of the season. Despite playing for a struggling team, Benteke leads the MLS in goals with 22.

It was natural for the revolution to bypass Benteke. They’ve botched multiple deals for future Golden Ball winners and league MVPs dating back to 1997, when Stern John showed up at Revolution training camp in Raleigh, North Carolina. A year later, John joined the Columbus Crew and transformed into a league-leading 26 goals, then moved to Nottingham Forest for $4 million.

This offensive was not the only failure of the revolution. They canceled out the Dynamo’s decisive goal with a free kick and failed to double Erik Sviatchenko, who fired a half-volley past Aljaz Ivacic in the 68th minute for his first goal of the season. And when Ponce opened the scoring in the 50th minute after losing the ball, Porter said the Revolution should have played more directly.

These errors proved costly, but could have been reversed by some imaginative forward play. Proven scorers can propel a team from mediocrity to playoff position or be the deciding factor that transforms a winning team into a title team. Benteke basically saved DC United, who were ranked 29th and last in defense just before the revolution.

Porter has spent most of the season reinventing the Revolution, from behind. The process stalled when the team needed four goaltenders (Jacob Jackson, Tomas Vaclik, Henrich Ravas and current backup Earl Edwards Jr.) before finding Ivacic in April. By the time the Revolution got around to working on their attacking deficiencies, complicated by a season-ending injury to Tomas Chancalay, it was a little late.

The reason for the delay turned out to be, among other things, league policy that prevented the Revolution from using a $19.5 million transfer fee from goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic’s move to Chelsea FC last year. But teams like Inter Miami have easily navigated similar talent acquisition complications.

Despite the Revolution’s poor reputation, the team has shown promise in the second half of the season (8-8-5 in their last 21 games). However, if the Revolution doesn’t try to keep up with Miami and other ambitious league teams, they will likely fail again next season.

---

Frank Dell’Apa can be reached at [email protected].