Point taken despite giveaways
Revolution sloppy in tie with Crew
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There were several controversial incidents in the Revolution's 2-2 tie with the Columbus Crew last night. But Revolution coach Steve Nicol is not eager to view a replay of the match.
"It was torture," Nicol said, "certainly from where I was sitting. I've not seen us give the ball away so many times. Pressure, no pressure, nobody cleared their lines when they had to. When we pass the ball, we are a good team. I know what the players are capable of as a team and for us to play the way we did, it was torture."
The Revolution set themselves up for problems with inaccurate passing in the first half and failed to adjust to the Crew's defensive tactics. But after surrendering a deflected goal to Ned Grabavoy in the eighth minute, the Revolution recovered to take the lead on goals by Andy Dorman (10th minute) and Taylor Twellman (38th), and nearly clinched the win as a Twellman try was saved (75th) by Andy Gruenebaum. Finally, Crew substitute Kai Kamara roofed a deflected cross to tie the score in the 86th minute.
"I don't know if we lost 2 points or gained 1," Nicol said. "Taylor had a chance to make it 3-1; he took his goal great and the reason we got the point was because of the quality of Dorman and Taylor, they had quality finishes."
Before the Revolution (1-1-1, 4 points) play at FC Dallas April 29, among the plays that will be reviewed by league officials was an elbow by the Crew's Andy Herron, which flattened defender Jay Heaps late in the first half. While the teams awaited a Columbus free kick, Herron landed his right elbow to Heaps's head. While Heaps was down, the Revolution's Shalrie Joseph shoved Herron.
Tensions were rising as the first half concluded and increased after the Revolution's James Riley appeared to have been upended by Herron, Heaps recovering to take down Herron in the 42d minute. Referee Ricardo Salazar cautioned Heaps on the play and, two minutes later, Heaps went down. This time, Salazar consulted a linesman but did not issue a caution. Salazar did show four yellow cards in the second half, including one to the Crew's Rusty Pierce for a 94th-minute tackle on Revolution midfielder Jeff Larentowicz.
The match got off to an action-filled start, the Revolution's Steve Ralston breaking free for a shot 16 seconds in. The Revolution began struggling with the ball, though, and the Crew capitalized, earning a series of corners and setting up Frankie Hejduk for crosses. Part of the Revolution's problems were caused by the Crew limiting the angles of the passing options.
A Revolution giveaway led to the opening goal. Eddie Gaven deflected Joseph's pass, sending Joseph Ngwenya free on the right wing. Ricardo Virtuoso settled the cross and Grabavoy's shot went off Joseph and past Matt Reis for Columbus's first goal of the season. Joseph keyed a quick Revolution buildup with a back heel from the center circle, leading to the tying goal. Khano Smith's drive into the penalty area bounced to Adam Cristman, who laid off for Dorman's open shot from 15 yards in the 10th minute. The Revolution continued to lose possession, allowing Herron a point-blank shot (22d minute) that was stopped by Reis, Dorman then blocking Gaven's rebound.
But the Revolution, 6-1-6 against the Crew since June 6, 2004, soon began adjusting on the wings. A Heaps win against Virtuoso set up Twellman for the second goal. Heaps quickly found an unmarked Twellman just over the halfway line, Twellman turning and running 20 yards with the ball, then unleashing a 30-yard-plus shot into the far side of the net for a 2-1 advantage. Twellman's third goal of the season moved him within one of Preki for seventh place on the all-time MLS list with 78 scores.
The Revolution attack stalled early in the second half as Dorman was fouled (49th minute) by Grabavoy, who was cautioned, Dorman departing for treatment. Smith mishit a Cristman cross (55th), then Herron curled a shot wide (58th). Pat Noonan replaced Cristman in the 66th minute and combined with Ralston to set up a Twellman shot (75th) that was saved at point-blank range. The Crew began threatening after patient buildups, but the Revolution remained compact defensively and countered. Kamara tied the score, roofing a cross from Hejduk, which bounced off Riley's foot as the Revolution failed to reorganize following a clearance.
The Crew announced the signing of Guillermo Barros Schelotto to a two-year contract. Barros Schelotto, 33, who won 15 titles with Boca Juniors, will join the Crew next month . . . Former Revolution forward and assistant coach Giuseppe Galderisi has been fired as coach of US Avellino despite guiding the team to second place with a 17-5-8 record in Italy's Serie C1B. Avellino has had 2 points deducted for financial irregularities and trails Rimini (61 points) by 4 points. Avellino is fourth among Italian professional teams (behind Inter, Roma, and Juventus) with 59 goals. But Avellino lost to Cavese, 3-1, last Sunday. Giovanni Vavassori succeeds Galderisi, a former Italian national team star and the first international player signed by the Revolution in 1996.
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com. 