First half updates: New England Revolution @ Toronto FC

Here are some notes and thoughts from this afternoon’s first half:

• It’s good to see that Pat Phelan is able to stick around in the lineup for at least a little bit longer. He’s done an admirable job filling in for Shalrie Joseph in the captain’s absence and though it’s rightly without a second’s hesitation that Joseph is immediately inserted back into the lineup and granted the captain’s band, Phelan has played well enough to stay on the field. If the plan is to eventually plug Emmanuel Osei or Darrius Barnes back into the centerback spot that Phelan’s patrolled the last two weeks, and Steve Nicol sticks with the 4-5-1 formation he’s employed of late, perhaps it’d make sense to replace Joseph Niouky with Phelan, but that’s probably a decision that’s a ways away from being made.
• Sainey Nyassi had a great opportunity in the seventh minute. While a great defensive play from Adrian Cann prevented it from resulting in a point for the Revs, Nyassi’s creativity in the spot is of importance given that he’s been criticized for being too straight forward and simple offensively, putting his speed to waste.
• Marko Perovic just showed great individual possession skills in the midfield and streaked down the field, delivering a beautiful ball right to Kheli Dube‘s right foot. Dube put the ball right into Stefan Frei‘s face, narrowly missing a goal on another great opportunity for the Revs. For the third straight league game, New England is putting some pressure on their opponent’s defense. Hopefully this time it will pay off.
• The TV guys mentioned it and I agree: with Joseph in the lineup, this roster just gets so much stronger at every spot. He’s a complete game-changer for this bunch and if it needs to be further emphasized, then so be it: it’s good to have him back.
• Welcome back, Shalrie! How ’bout a probably unwarranted yellow card?
• This became very sloppy somewhere in the last fifteen minutes. Not a lot happening for either side except for turnovers. I suppose we can blame it on the wet field but blame alone doesn’t make the resultant play any more entertaining. The match had an exciting start but it’s been pretty ugly for the last however many minutes.

So ends the first half with the 2 clubs tied at 0. The Revs look better in some areas with Joseph in the lineup but there’s little to be impressed with in the game’s first stage. After an aggressive start from both sides, play really fell apart after the twenty-fifth minute, excepting some solid build up play from the Revolution, much of which was driven from Joseph.

Stick with us through the second half!