Coaches will more often than not complain about the injustice of a defeat, or heap exaggerated praise upon their team when things go right. It was refreshing, then, to hear New England coach Steve Nicol admit that his team was fortunate to take a point in Thursday's 2-2 tie with D.C. United.
"As a football match, we got outplayed from start to finish," Nicol said. "Sometimes good old heart gets you something you didn't deserve. We got outplayed, but when it comes down to other elements of the game, we showed that when we need it, we can bring it out."
Nicol modestly neglected to mention his own tactical savvy in taking defender Wells Thompson out the game before halftime and replacing him with striker Adam Cristman. Thompson had looked close to a second yellow card, while Cristman came in to chivvy up a dead offense and score the comeback goal. "The thing about this team is, even if we are struggling, we work as a team," said forward Kheli Dube, who tied the game at 2-2. "What I've seen, even if we are losing, we keep going."
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