There will be nights like Saturday through the course of a marathon season.
The task from here is learning from it, erasing it and moving all their focus to next Saturday’s match against Seattle Sounders FC at PPL Park.
The Philadelphia Union couldn’t carry over their momentum from a huge 3-2 win at D.C. United and fell 2-0 against the New England Revolution Saturday night at Gillette Stadium. It was an emotional scene in Foxborough, Mass., in the aftermath of the terror attack at the Boston Marathon, which killed three people and injured nearly 200 others.
On the pitch, the Revolution played extremely well, especially in the midfield.
Sure, the Union had their chances.
But on this particular night, they were unable to capitalize and lost to the Revolution for the first time in four seasons.
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“They just opened us up and put us on our heels and attacked with numbers,” Union defender Jeff Parke said. “They made it difficult for us in the back. We didn't follow runners and didn't do enough to keep them wide. They came at us up the middle, played it wide then played it across and there's a couple of goals after it. They had a couple of chances, as well. On the whole and on the day, they were better and created more chances.”
The Union fell to 3-3-2 (11 points) this season but can still take solace in the fact that they’ve earned road points with wins at Colorado and D.C. United and a draw at Columbus.
Being shut out against the Revolution had to sting, but mistakes can be corrected. They know that.
“You have games where you are not your best,” manager John Hackworth said. “Certainly on the road if you don’t rise to the occasion, especially on an emotional night like tonight for New England and this community. It doesn’t help that we struggle a little bit with the turf. All those things said, it wasn’t our best. We just need to go back and review this game. Look at the game film, come up with a plan, just try to hammer home the things we’ve been doing well. Know that tonight on a lot of levels, this is not acceptable for this team.”
In a marathon season, there will be matches like this. The key is to not let it linger, watch the film and come back strong against Seattle.
“We didn't really play like we're capable of,” said midfielder and captain Brian Carroll. “Part of that was due to them, part of that was, who knows why. It's a long year, it's a disappointing result but we have to move on and be better in the next one."
Carroll added:
“I thought there were a lot of things that we could've done better. It just wasn't our night, for whatever reason, offensively, defensively, possession of the ball making plays that we normally make. It just wasn't there tonight. They were the better team on the night.”
Contact Union writer Andy Jasner at andy.jasner@yahoo.com
