New England Revolution manager Steve Nicol was displeased with his side's effort in a 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night.
The loss snapped a seven-match unbeaten streak for the Revolution, as Taylor Twellman's 11th-minute effort was overcome by a 39th-minute strike by Josh Wolff and the 66th-minute game-winner by Davy Arnaud.
"We have five fantastic opportunities, but we only put one away," said Nicol. "Did we deserve better tonight? Yes and no. Did we make chances? Yes, we did. Other than that, we did not deserve it. We did not have enough leaders on the field tonight. We were disorganized tonight. We didn't look as though we were ready to play."
The failure to convert was down to Kansas City goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi. The Wizards backup was thrust into the lineup after Tony Meola pulled up lame with a sore right Achilles during warm-ups and performed admirably in his stead -- his first start in an MLS game in more than two seasons, since Aug. 18, 2002. Oshoniyi made crucial stops on Twellman and Pat Noonan late in the second half to ensure the victory.
"You have to give Bo credit," said Twellman. "He made a few big saves, one on [Pat] Noonan's header, one on [Jose] Cancela's free kick, and one on my shot."
"I guarantee nine times out of 10, Taylor scores on that chance," said Oshoniyi, who had not played a single minute in league play this season, and played just eight minutes a year ago. "I held my ground and stuck a leg out to stop it."
Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph admits that his side really cannot take much away from a performance that started well but petered out quickly through a lack of possession.
"We can't really take much out of this game," said Joseph. "We just didn't have the urgency."
Nicol was particularly displeased with his side's second-half performance.
"There are no excuses for how we played in the second half," said Nicol. "There are certain things we talk about time and time again and we still don't do right. We lost the second goal from a fundamental thing I must have said 4,000 times this season. That's annoying."
Wizards coach Bob Gansler was happy with his side's performance following a disappointing 2-1 loss in Columbus on Wednesday night.
"It's amazing what the human brain can do," said Gansler. "It happens time and again. The team that's fresher and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed does not get it done. It was good to get three points after a disappointing game in Columbus."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
