New England Revolution looking for quality start against Philadelphia Union

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the New England Revolution didn’t have a great performance against Nashville SC. Looking ahead to their matchup against the Philadelphia Union, the Revs will need to perform much better.

For the second time this season, New England got off to a terrible start. They looked like a completely different team compared to their win over Atlanta United. Nashville thoroughly outplayed the Revs in the first half.

This was reminiscent of New England’s performance in the season opener against the Chicago Fire. The Revs gave up two quick goals but were able to right the ship and walk away with a draw.

Especially against Nashville, New England was the better team. They just simply failed to show up to start the game. If they do that against the Philadelphia Union, it will be a long night on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Brandon Bye said that the team wants to get off to a good start.

Bye said, “I don’t think it’s so much about Nashville, it’s more focused on Philly. For us as a team, I think we didn’t play our best during the weekend and we know that. But just coming out strong and getting ready, starting from minute one, being ready for the game, I think that’s a main focus of ours.”

The Union had New England’s number throughout the 2020 regular season. The Revs were the ones with the last laugh as they knocked Philadelphia out of the playoffs.

If the Revolution want to stay at the top of the Eastern Conference standings and establish themselves as true contenders, they will need to have a great performance against Philly.

Midfielder Tommy McNamara also stressed that New England made getting off to a good start a priority ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup.

He said, “The first two road games, we didn’t really start well. Nashville, we started well maybe the first five minutes, but then we kind of got pinned back. Chicago, we did not start well the first 15 minutes and then we came back into it. And yeah, it’s a priority. We discussed it, we’ve seen it on video. We’ve made it abundantly clear that we need to make sure that when we step on the field tomorrow night, that we are ready to go and ready to compete. Whether we’re playing good or playing poorly, at least we’re there, we’re focused, and we’re fighting for every ball at the beginning from the first whistle.”

If New England gets off to a good start against Philadelphia, they could establish themselves as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Even though the Union will be without Jose Martinez, they have been a thorn in the side of the Revs and are still one of the best teams in MLS.

As long as New England gets off to a good start, Wednesday should be an exciting night for Revolution fans.