FRISCO, Texas – It was not a happy Fourth of July for the New England Revolution.
Mauro Diaz converted a set piece before the game was 10 minutes old, while Fabian Castillo and Michael Barrios tacked on second-half strikes as FC Dallas sent the Revs to a fourth straight loss in a 3-0 setback on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium.
“Disappointed across the board,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “Every facet of the game; how we attacked, how we defended, set pieces – we just weren’t good enough.
“We were outplayed. I don’t want to take away from Dallas. They were better than us tonight.”
Diaz’s early goal – a 20-yard free kick which slipped under the Revolution’s four-man wall as it jumped in unison – was particularly frustrating given New England’s pregame approach.
“Our goal coming into tonight was to keep things tight and try not to concede early; keep ourselves in the game,” said Chris Tierney. “So conceding that early goal was disappointing.”
But there were briefly signs of life from the Revolution. Although they were out-possessed through the opening 45 minutes, Diaz’s goal was the home side’s only shot on target in the first half.
Then the Revs had their best spell of the game shortly after the break – a period which included a penalty shout and a strong chance from Charlie Davies – only to see it waste away without any end product.
“I thought at the start of the second half we put together some decent stuff,” said Tierney. “We just couldn’t find the final ball, couldn’t get it in the net. Then they hit us on the break twice and that was the story of the game.”
By the time Castillo pounced on a defensive miscue to double Dallas’ lead in the 64th minute it was an uphill battle for New England, and Barrios put the result beyond doubt with his first MLS goal nine minutes later, burying a seeing-eye pass from Diaz.
The result dropped the Revolution’s record to 1-6-4 in the last 11 league matches, and although they remain locked in a tie for second place in the East, they know that a turnaround needs to arrive swiftly, beginning with next weekend’s trip to Red Bull Arena.
“We’ve been here before,” said Tierney, who endured the Revolution’s eight-game losing streak last year before closing the season on a 9-1-1 run. “I’ve been here multiple times in my career and my experience is that sometimes the breaks aren’t going your way.
“Just as they aren’t, things turn around and wins can really start piling together. We’re just going to try to stay in good spirits, stick together, work hard and dig our way out.”
