The Revolution had no answer to Piatti

When your team plays away on a beautiful day, on a great natural-grass surface, little wind, a big field (120 by 77 yards), against a very experienced player like Piatti, you’re probably going to have problems. The Revs’ solution of merely keeping a close eye on him did not work, as he had far too much freedom to make plays in a number of ways, his most effective being the penetrating pass, a skill enhanced by the near-perfect playing conditions. All this, I am sure, was predictable by the Rev staff, but they had no workable plan to shut him down. He scored one goal and assisted three others between extra time at the end of the first half and the 68th minute of the second—a jam-packed 25 minutes. At that time, he was withdrawn.

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