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Khano Smith was issued a red card that will keep him out of Thursday's playoff opener. (Photo credit: Joyce Furia) |
"[Coach Steve Nicol] told us a few weeks ago that we were going to play the 4-4-2 from here on out," said Michael Parkhurst. "We are trying to get accustomed. We are working hard in practice this week. Obviously we didn't have too much time to get it sorted out tonight."
Just 26 minutes into the match, the Revs lost Badilla. On the foul, Badilla, got his hands up, but there was minimal contact and Lopez went down easily. Referee Kevin Stott immediately pointed to the spot for a penalty and pulled out the red card, despite the soft foul and Chris Albright being closer to goal than both of them. The official's ruling for the red card was denying a goal scoring opportunity by foul. Lopez stepped up to take the penalty, sending goalkeeper Matt Reis the wrong way and shooting down the middle to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.
"I think he was very quick to throw the card," said Reis. "I think he already made the decision before he even looked around to see what the situation was. It's the last game of the year and he definitely put a stamp on the game."
"Obviously the change in the game was the [red] card on Badilla," said Nicol. "You can argue that it is a penalty, that it isn't a penalty, but for me the referee shows a complete lack of understanding in the situation. This is the last regular season game, both teams are in the playoffs. If someone deserves to get sent off, then send them off and they'll miss the playoffs, but to send Badilla off in this situation just shows a lack of understanding."
Nicol also referenced Stott's last match at Gillette Stadium, in which he sent off Shalrie Joseph for knocking the ball out of Cuauhtemoc Blanco's hands when he thought it was a Revolution throw in.
The Revs had their first real chance of the match in the 31st minute, when Joseph rose above his defender to get a head on a corner kick from Mauricio Castro. Joseph's header landed just wide of the post.
Khano Smith added to the Revs problems in the 42nd when he went in hard with a ridiculous slide tackle on Gomez. Smith was immediately ejected leaving the Revs down two men on a play that also saw a yellow issued to Joseph. Gomez had tackled Ralston on the play in which he broke his right fibula two weeks ago.
The Revs still pushed forward in the 45th with Larentowicz and Jay Heaps joining Taylor Twellman in the offensive end. Larentowicz found Heaps at the top of the box. Heaps was obstructed by the arm of a defender as he ran into the box and went, but Stott waved off the protests for a foul.
At halftime the Revolution brought Sainey Nyassi for Mauricio Castro and lined up in a 3-4-1 formation with Dube sliding into a left midfield role.
The Revs created a chance early in the half, when they found Twellman with some space in the box. Twellman couldn't get a good shot off and saw his attempt trickle past the far post.
In the 54th mionute, Davy Arnaud found the back of the net, when Roger Espinoza found him in the box. Arnaud avoided two defenders and sent a low shot past a diving Reis to put the game out of reach, for the undermanned Revs.
The Revs all but gave up on the match in the 59th minute, subbing out Dube and Joseph for Kenny Mansally and Pat Phelan.
Substitute Ivan Trujillo created a third goal for the Wizards in the 88th minute. Trujillo sent a cross towards the far post, but it deflected off Michael Parkhurst and was redirected inside the far post to give the Wizards a 3-0 lead.
Larentowicz scored a consolation 90th minute when he stole the ball from a Wizards defender and unleashed a long range blast from around thirty yards out. His shot deflected off Jimmy Conrad and beat Hartman to make it 3-1.
The Revs next host the Chicago Fire on Thursday in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
"The season's over, so you start over,” said Twellman. “It's actually going to be refreshing for us just to come into Thursday and know the slate's clean. We've got to figure it out real quick."
"We are struggling," said Shalrie Joseph. "This is probably the first year I've been here when we are struggling going into the playoffs. We've just got to get it together. The regular season is over. This is what we've played for to get into the playoffs. We didn't go in the way we wanted, but we are still in the playoffs. It's time to make a statement and get our stuff together for Thursday."
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