Revs push, but can't break LA
New England surge comes up short, despite late penalty kick
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Mariner's temporary charges -- Revs coach Steve Nicol missed the game and will miss the Aug. 20 trip to Seattle through suspension -- did that well enough. They just didn't count on Landon Donovan opening the scoring after 21 minutes -- on a left-footed volley that Mariner said could be the goal of the season -- to shift them to the back foot.
"I thought, in the first half in particular, we were pretty bright," Mariner said. "When we went a goal down, I thought we were still pushing."
A couple of chances went begging -- Steve Ralston lamented not getting on the end of a Kenny Mansally cross to the far post -- as the Revs couldn't find that precious equalizer before the halftime whistle.
Mariner tweaked things a bit heading into the second half with Sainey Nyassi coming on for the hobbled Edgaras Jankauskas to supplement the continued forward runs from Revs right back Kevin Alston. With Nyassi on the right and Ralston tucked in the middle after playing the first half on the right wing, the Revs sputtered a bit to start the second stanza.
Jovan Kirovski made the Revs pay for those stumbles by grabbing the Galaxy's second goal six minutes after halftime. Mariner said the Revs simply gave Los Angeles too much of an advantage for the last 40 minutes of the contest.
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"I'm sure when we look at the DVD, we'll be a little bit sad about the goals that we gave away," Mariner said. "You can't give a team like LA a two-goal start. They've got quality all over the field. Landon is a constant threat, Becks with his passing and the rest of them pick up good spots."
All of the good spots Galaxy picked up defensively left the Revolution frustrated as they went in search of goals. Instead of using the combination play that had worked in the first half, they opted too often for direct or one-on-one play, according to Ralston.
"Once we went down, we lost the way we were playing and we lost our heads," Ralston said. "We just started going every time instead of passing the ball and keeping the ball. We were so direct and trying to get it all back at one time. Then the ball turned over and we were in bad spots. We had to realize that there was time to come back and that we needed to keep playing."
Ralston handed his team a lifeline with seven minutes to play from the spot. Kenny Mansally surged past Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez in the penalty area and tempted the rookie center back into bringing him to the ground.
"It was going to be a one-on-one with the goalie, so he just grabbed me," Mansally said. "I couldn't do anything. I just fell down to get a penalty kick."
Ralston's penalty might have given the Revs hope, but they couldn't figure out a way to snatch a draw in the late stages as the Galaxy held out resolutely to grab their first-ever win at Gillette Stadium.
"We could have gotten an equalizer, but we didn't," Mariner said. "The players are bitterly disappointed, as we are."
Mariner said his side could have fared better on another day with a bit more sharpness in the final third.
"We thought we pressed the game pretty well," Mariner said. "We're delighted with the players' efforts. The efforts were second-to-none. They were fantastic. You just need that little bit of luck in front of goal and we didn't really have it. You can't give a team like that a two-goal start."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com
