Blake here
Well the Toronto game was irritating although less irritating then it might have been. With the Revs having yet another starting lineup with Heaps back and the new striker (Edgaras Jankauskas) healthy. Have the Revs started the same lineup for two games in a row once this year? As it turned out we would get a chance to see Edgaras Jankauskas for a full a game. I have to say I was generally impressed. For a big man he has really good footwork. Unfortunately (though not unexpectedly) he didn't always seem on the same page with Dube and Ralston and there were a couple of times in the first half where it seemed he was looking for the pass which wasn't there, rather then his shot. Still and all, I look forward to seeing more of him. I think once he gets on the same page with his teammates, he will be much more productive.
The Revs actually started well, but the extremely physical challenges by Toronto seemed to take the starch out of the Revs attack. Then again when you're getting kicked in the back of the leg every time you receive the ball and calls are only made on the most egregious fouls, that's not surprising. The center ref (Terry Vaughn) seemed to have decided he would only call fouls when he could issue a yellow card. Ali Gerba in particular was a beast - and not in a Conner Casey use your body and physical strength to control the ball and generate chances way, but in a I'm going to knock you down or throw you out of the way and since Terry Vaughn is the ref it won't get called kind of way.
The second half started much the same with Joseph replacing Dube at the start of the second half. Chad Barrett picked up a second yellow in the 50th minute and with a man advantage for 40 minutes, well, I believed the Revs would pick up a couple of goals and get the win. But for the first time in three games the introduction of Joseph did not have the desired effect. It seemed as if he and Jankauskas kept getting in each others way. Chances were wasted and every decision in the final third seemed the wrong one. After Barret was sent off Videra replaced Osei as the Revs went to a three man back line, but still the attack faltered in the final third. It seemed as if everyone was having a bad decision night. Laurentowicz had more then a few chances for one of his trademark blasts from outside the penalty area but passed them up. Mansally took pointless shots when he had viable targets in the box for a cross. And Ralston, Joseph and Jankauskas all seemed more interested in an assist then a goal. Finally Heaps combined with Joseph and Jankauskas with Jankauskas scoring the tying goal. But a second goal proved elusive and the Revs had to settle for a tie. With a man advantage for 40 plus minutes this felt like a loss.
On the other hand the win in Houston against a Dynamo team that hadn't lost at home all year was the kind of tough gritty win that the Revs used to specialize in. The defense was solid all game an in the closing minutes Alston found Ralston with a beautiful pass splitting the defense and Ralston chipped it over Onstad for an easy tap in by Dube. Onstad had kept Houston in the game while the Revs back four (Alston, Barnes, Osei and Tierny) shut down the Houston attack all game. The injection of Joseph at the start of the second half seemed to spark the Revs offense and they were able to get some much needed points on the road. With a couple of games in hand, if the Revs can get full points from those games, they are right in the thick of the playoff picture potentially holding down one of the two automatic conference games.
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