What do you make of the Revs’ 1-1 draw at D.C. last Friday? If you’re a Revolution fan, it was a tie that felt like a loss. Surrendering the equalizer in second half stoppage time was a bitter way to end the game after seeing New England work so hard and coming so close to getting a full share of the spoils. But be honest, with all the injuries the Revs are carrying at present, if someone had said at the beginning of the day they’d get a road draw against United they’d have taken it, no?

The glass-half-full view is that the Revs are unbeaten through four matches and I’m inclined to concur with that way of thinking.  Really. Even without Taylor Twellman, Matt Reis and Chris Albright the other day – not to mention Kevin Alston, Gabriel Badilla and Mauricio Castro – the Revs look like they have a killer midfield, a cutting thrust and a stout defense.

Young defenders Chris Tierney, Darrius Barnes and now Amaechi Igwe  have all proven themselves to be capable – which is more important now that Albright is out of the mix for the time being after knee surgery.

Brad Knighton, of course, has totally outstripped expectations, giving up just three goals in three games. Although his lack of experience occasionally shows, he’s been mostly commanding in the penalty area and demonstrates a penchant for strong, quick saves. The Revs want Matt Reis back between the sticks, for sure, but there’s certainly no need to risk anything and rush Reis back since Knighton has shown himself to be an MLS-caliber goalie.

TV didn’t make enough of the foul that led to the free kick that D.C. scored on. Yes, Sainey Nyassi was naïve in committing the infraction – after coming on as a sub, Fred was falling down anytime someone anywhere in RFK Stadium sneezed and anyone marking him needed to be aware of that. But referee Jair Marrufo called Nysassi for what looked like a soft foul at best. It’s hard to argue with Steve Nicol’s quotes on the subject. Then again, we never saw a replay on the play (rightly so, at least in the moment, the ESPN TV truck didn’t want to miss a possible goal). Still, analyst John Harkes said live that it looked like embellishment by Fred and I’m surprised it wasn’t more a point of discussion/analysis after the fact.  It would have enhanced the telecast to see a replay after the fact since it was the main point of controversy in the game.

OK – back to the positives. Shalrie Joseph is playing great right now. After a couple of weeks in a row as set-up man, he towered over the United defense in scoring the Revs’ goal and he was a master destroyer in midfield, once again, most of the night. Jeff Larentowicz was brave in playing with his hip injury – and playing quite well – and it was unfortunate for New England that he had to be subbed off late in the game. As long as Red and Dread are in there, the Revs are capable of beating any team in MLS. And now that Steve Ralston is back in the team with his feinting and moving and wheeling and dealing, the Revs are much more capable of creating in the attack.

Now it’s off to the Western Rockies this Saturday to play a Real Salt Lake team that’s been up and down so far this season. I’ll have more on that on Friday in this space.

In the meantime, tune into In the Net Wednesday at 11 a.m. or through the archive/podcast. The email address is revradio@revolutionsoccer.net. My scheduled guests are: Andrew Hush of ESPNsoccernet, former Revs defender Brian Dunseth now a TV color analyst for RSL TV and Fox Soccer Channel, and James Edward, RSL beat reporter for the Deseret News.