Revolution can’t hide in shutout at Montreal
No amount of smoke, mirrors, or formation changes could hide the Revolution’s vulnerabilities in a 4-0 road loss to CF Montreal at Stade Saputo Saturday night.
Montreal won midfield battles and overpowered defenders as Romell Quioto scored twice and former Revolution forward Kei Kamara once in a half-hour span covering both halves. Reserve Matko Miljevic added an added-time penalty kick to hand the Revolution their worst defeat of the Bruce Arena era.
The Revolution (8-8-10, 34 points), who host the Los Angeles Galaxy Aug. 28, were able to compile a five-match unbeaten streak with patchwork lineups, but could not match up this time. Montreal (14-8-4, 46 points) snapped a five-game losing streak against the Revolution dating to the 2020 season opener.
Arena started with a 4-3-1-2 alignment, A.J. DeLaGarza making his first start in a holding midfield position, joining Tommy McNamara and Matt Polster, and Esmir Bajraktarevic pairing with Justin Rennicks up front. But the Revolution failed to combine effectively in midfield and defenders Jon Bell and Andrew Farrell were unable to contain Kamara and Quioto.
Kamara and Quioto went one-on-one to score the opening goal, Kamara one-timing a left-footer just inside the near post off a Quioto cross in the 26th minute. Quioto increased the lead on a feed from Lassi Lappalainen on a breakaway in the 39th, the sequence starting as Mathieu Choiniere stripped Brandon Bye. Quioto then went straight at Farrell and finished over Djordje Petrovic in the 55th minute. Observations from Saturday’s game:
• Defining moment: In the 40th minute, just after Montreal took a two-goal lead, Samuel Piette floored DeLaGarza in taking possession near the center circle. This helped set the tone in midfield and was a reminder the Revolution would have no response to Montreal’s physicality. It was also a sign of the Revolution’s lack of chemistry in midfield — with Noel Buck, Wilfrid Kaptoum, and Lucas Maciel unavailable, DeLaGarza, a defender, was playing out of position.
• Difference-maker: Quioto mostly used brute force and speed to keep Revolution defenders off balance. In a one-minute span in the first half, Quioto knocked down Farrell, and committed another foul against Farrell, just to show nothing was going to get in the way of him going for every ball, and then some. Referee Chris Penso allowed plenty of hard tackling, but curiously awarded a penalty kick after the lightest of contact involving Omar Gonzalez and Miljevic.
R• Tactical analysis: The Revolution’s 4-3-1-2 alignment was ineffective, partly because they struggled in matchups, and also because they failed to move the ball quickly in midfield. Arena might have started with a 5-4-1 setup, which functioned well in a 2-2 tie with Toronto FC Wednesday, but said Gonzalez and Christian Makoun could not have been expected to make two starts in 72 hours.
• Statistical analysis: The Revolution probably should not have relied on crosses, since the lineup included six players 5 feet 9 inches or shorter. Bye won several headers, but is expected to deliver crosses more often than finish them. When the Revolution finally earned a corner kick in the second half, they had extended a streak of 206 minutes covering two-plus games without a corner. Gonzalez, probably the team’s best threat to convert set pieces, headed off the crossbar in the 85th minute.
• Road ahead: The Revolution occupy the seventh and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference going into a three-game homestand. None of their missing players — Dylan Borrero (leg); Gustavo Bou (leg); Henry Kessler (health and safety protocols); Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (leg); Giacomo Vrioni (leg); and midfielders Buck, Kaptoum, and Maciel — have been diagnosed with long-term injuries.
• What they said: “The guys in the first half, I thought that they were physically intimidated,” Arena said. “Why? I don’t know, but they were. But I give our guys credit. They’ve been working for many, many weeks shorthanded, battling every day, getting some results in games. So, some guys didn’t play well tonight, others did. I can’t fault them. We have an awful lot of injuries. We have guys that are back in Foxborough that should have been on this trip playing, so that hurts our team. But hopefully in the next week we can do a little bit better and get some guys back.”