Revolution Play Badly In 3-0 Loss To The Union

The New England Revolution (3-9-7, 16 points), met the Philadelphia Union Sunday Night at Gillette Stadium. Philadelphia scored two first half goals to cruise through this match. The Revs had no answers for the visitors, and were completely dominated in this game. The Revs play badly in the 3-0 loss to the Union.

The Philadelphia Union (8-4-7, 31 points) who are now in first place in the Eastern Conference, didn't waste much time taking control of this game. In the 12th minute, Carlos Ruiz flicked the ball to Justin Mapp, who was pushing forward down the right side. He got into the box, and sent a cross to Keon Daniel who headed the ball to a flying Ruiz, who kicked it into the back of the net. This was really a tremendous play from Philadelphia on the first goal of the game. The Union led early 1-0.

The Union would strike again in the 24th minute. It was almost a carbon copy of the first goal. Kyle Nakazawa took this free kick, and passed it into the box where Sebastien Le Toux would head the ball to Carlos Valdes. He would strike the ball into the back of the net to double the lead for the Union. This was the first goal ever for Valdes in MLS. The Union were in complete command of this match up 2-0.

The rest of the half would see the Union keep possession of the ball the majority of the time. The Revs were not able to even get a shot off in the first 45 minutes. The Union put on a clinic at the Revs expense in the first half as it ended 2-0.

The Revs came out strong in the second half which saw a couple of substitutions coming in. Zak Boggs and Darrius Barnes entered the game which also included a change in formation. The Revs moved to a 3-5-2, and it seem to ignite the team.

In the 47th minute, Kenny Mansally took a corner kick which got to Stephen McCarthy in the box. His shot just goes over the net. In the next minute, Boggs would send a cross that would lead to a Mansally header that just went wide of the goal.

The Revs were continuing to turn up the heat, and the pressure seemed to be working. In the 51st minute, Boggs sent a cross into the box, which leads to a wonderful shot by Chris Tierney which hits the woodwork. The Revs were getting closer, but could not get that first elusive goal.

However, the match would change for the worst for the Revs in the 66th minute. Benny Feilhaber would pick up his second yellow of the match, and get ejected. The rest of the game, the Revs would play a man down.

As the game was winding to the end, the Union would get their third goal. In the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Sheanon Williams would streak towards the goal to beat Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis. The match ended seconds later with a convincing 3-0 victory for the Union against the Revs.

Going into this match, the Revs had Shalrie Joseph, and Ryan Cochrane both out with a suspension. However, even with those players out their is no excuse for how poorly the Revs played at home.

Without a doubt this was their poorest performance of the season. Coach Nicol is going to have to figure a way to turn this season around now. They have an uphill battle as they will be on the road the rest of the month.

The Revs will next be in action on Wednesday July 20th against D.C. United. The match takes place at RFK stadium at 7:30 PM EST.

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Kevin Alston, Franco Coria (Darius Barnes 46), A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney, Sainey Nyassi (Zak Boggs, 46), Pat Phelan, Kenny Mansally (Zack Schilawski 79), Stephen McCarthy, Benny Feilhaber, Rajko Lekic