FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Chances are there weren't many kind words exchanged in the New England Revolution locker room at halftime of Saturday's 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake.
Javier Morales' 13th-minute goal staked RSL to a 1-0 lead at the break. RSL came in and dictated the pace of the game as the Revs couldn't get started and couldn't start their passing game.
"They outworked us in the first half," Revs head coach Steve Nicol said. "They put a lot into us. They defended well and got people back in numbers. They tried to get long balls and get it in behind us."
The situation improved after halftime. But it took longer than the Revs might have hoped.
After a couple of early second-half chances from Chris Albright and Kheli Dube went awry, RSL scored through a Morales-led counterattack. Andy Williams hit a thunderous volley. The visitors looked well on their way their first two-game winning streak of the season.
Inside of four minutes, the Revolution flipped the game around. Goals from Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman took the Revs from down two goals to pressing for a late winner. If Nat Borchers hadn't cleared off a Twellman chance off the line in stoppage time, they might just have found it.
Nicol didn't think his team deserved a win, but lauded his team's character after the late charge.
"It's another reminder to our players as a group that we need to show that we're never done and that we can never be counted out," Nicol said.
The overall performance worried those in the Revolution locker room as the team tries to hold off Chicago for home-field advantage in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Revolution's short-passing game has been difficult to find in recent weeks. Once noted for fluid movement from side to side, the passing game has lacked fluidity in recent weeks.
"There's no continuity," Twellman said. "We have to play two-touch and move the ball. Otherwise you start losing your spots. It becomes methodical."
Sporadic possession and unforced turnovers make things difficult on both sides of the ball. Without possession, pressure builds on the defense. And when the Revs finally do get it back, the wide play hasn't created enough chances or funneled enough service into Ralston and Twellman in the middle of the field.
Twellman and Ralston were non-factors until the goal and the Revs didn't create many, if any chances, as the game progressed.
Even though the team has struggled to keep teams out in recent weeks, Twellman thinks the team needs to share in the blame.
"It's not just our defense," Twellman said. "It's collectively as a whole. We're not playing great defense and we're not doing anything offensively. Ralston scored a great goal, but it was off a clearance. So was mine."
With the season rapidly winding to a close, there isn't much time to right things. Revs midfielder Khano Smith knows things must improve.
"We have to sort it out before the playoffs," Smith said. "We have three games. Hopefully the next game gets better."
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