FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Red cards happen. Teams prepare for the possibility. So when Chris Tierney was ejected in the 52nd minute on Saturday night, reducing the New England Revolution to 10 men, there was a plan in place for how to cope with the disadvantage.
Two red cards, though, is a bit of a rarity. It had been almost two years since the Revs had been reduced to nine men. So when Lee Nguyen was ejected just six minutes after Tierney, head coach Jay Heaps had to react on the fly to determine how best to maintain a 1-0 lead.
“You practice being down to 10 men,” Heaps said. “I’ve got to be honest with you – we don’t practice being down to nine men. But we just had a 35-minute session, so we’re alright.”
In an unfamiliar – and unplanned for – situation, Scott Caldwell played the role of courier. The central midfielder immediately visited Heaps on the sideline to get instructions on how to approach a two-man disadvantage, and immediately passed the message on to his teammates.
“I just wanted to, as quickly as possible, find out how we were going to play the next 30 minutes,” Caldwell said. “We had to get some answers just knowing that we’re down two guys.”
The message from Heaps: stay compact and clog the middle, forcing D.C. into the wide areas. They would concede the wings knowing the visitors would have opportunities to whip in crosses, but that’s where they felt they’d be best suited to cope with their numerical handicap.
For the most part, it worked. The Revs limited East-leading D.C. to just one shot on target and were rarely threatened defensively, and they even forced United goalkeeper Bill Hamid into a couple saves.
Some of that success was down to the quick-thinking tactical adjustments, but a hefty chunk was down to sheer will and determination, exhibited in spades by the nine Revs left of the field.
“A lot of it’s mental, just trying to push through,” said Caldwell. “Right away, I think within a minute, Jermaine (Jones) had won a ball, a hard 50-50, and that kind of got everyone going knowing that we can still make it through this game.”
“It was one of the best efforts I’ve seen from our team since I’ve been here,” said Andrew Farrell. “It felt good to be on the field with the guys giving it their all.”
It was an effort which so nearly earned the Revs all three points as they tried to make Charlie Davies’ team-leading fifth goal of the season – scored on the stroke of halftime – stand up.
But their only real lapse was punished by United as Taylor Kemp’s low, left-wing cross was turned home by Jairo Arrieta in the 80th minute, giving the visitors a share of the points on a night when the home side felt they might’ve just done enough to keep a clean sheet under trying circumstances.
“I hate that we gave up the goal because I don’t think that we were under a ton of pressure,” said Heaps. “That’s what bothers you. Because if there was chance after chance after chance and you give one up, that’s okay.
“It just felt like we may get out of here with the three points. I think that’s why we’re disappointed – not that we got the tie, but that we could’ve gotten three.”
