NE Revolution: 3 Key Takeaways from FC Dallas match

After a well-played first half, the New England Revolution were punished for defensive errors in the second half as they fell 2-1 to FC Dallas on Saturday night.

It was a disappointing result for the Revolution as they were unable to pick up their first points of the 2017 season at Dallas. The club grabbed an early lead but were unable to hold on as Maxi Urruti scored a second-half brace to give Dallas all three points.

How it happened

The Revolution took the lead in the tenth minute as Lee Nguyen converted an early spot kick for the away side. Antonio Mlinar Delamea was brought down by Cristian Colman on a corner kick and it was enough for the referee to point to the spot. 

For most of the first half, the Revolution were the better side, as the passing was flawless at times, however, the final ball was lacking to produce a second goal.

The comeback was on the in the second half as Urruti netted his first goal in the 71st minute. A shot by Michael Barrios was stopped by Cody Cropper, but the Argentine was there to put it into the net.

Another Urruti goal in the 77th minute proved to be the match-winner. This time the forward dispossessed Benjamin Angoua and roofed a shot past Cropper. In the end, it would finish 2-1.

Here are three takeaways from tonight’s match.

#1 Good start, poor finish

In the opening 20 minutes of the match, the Revolution looked like a side that was destined for three points. However, they faltered in the second half and were unable to take advantage of their extra week of rest and a tired FC Dallas side. The Revolution only had four shots all match and the offense was unable to move as fluidly in the final 45 minutes.

#2 Set pieces

A weakness that FC Dallas have shown at times is dealing with set pieces. With an aerial weapon such as Kei Kamara, the crosses and the delivery of the set pieces were lacking. In total, the Revolution only had 12 crosses with an eight percent success rate. The only time they were successful was when they were awarded the penalty, after that they were unable to expose the weakness.

Next: FC Dallas: 3 Key Takeaways from the NE Revolution match

#3 Close to last year

The Revolution looked a lot like they did last season. The mental defensive mistakes and poor tracking were obvious. There were numerous one-goal losses last season, hopefully, these opening two matches are not indicators of what the 2017 campaign will be like.