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Revs, Union finish scoreless in drab draw

MattReis (ISIPhotos.com)

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

There was nothing on the line for the New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union when they squared off at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, and it is probably a good thing.

Two teams playing out the string put together a forgettable 90 minutes of soccer and wound up settling for a 0-0 draw. The Union were the better side on the night, creating more chances and controlling possession, but an inability to finish plagued them yet again.

The Revs played without striker Saer Sene, who has been lost for the season with a torn ACL. New England's offense mustered just three shots on goal to Philadelphia's seven.

Freddy Adu returned to the Union starting lineup after being on the bench the past two matches, and looked sharp. He nearly set up a Union goal in the 44th minute when he delivered a curling corner kick that Amobi Okugo headed off the crossbar. Adu came close to an assist again in the 47th minute when he laid off a perfect through-pass to Antoine Hoppenot that ultimately led to a save by Matt Reis, who recovered seven on the night.

Here are the match highlights:

 

What did you think of the match? Find any encouraging signs from the Union? If you're a Revs fan, what did you take away from tonight's match?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Just watched the game this morning on the dvr. Should’ve just watched at 2x speed to get it over w/as soon as possible. Below are my thoughts:

    – Bob Rigby. Good lord is this man horrible. He reminds me of an older colleague who does everything w/best intentions and has a great heart. You really want to like the guy but then at every meeting he proposes some completely idiotic idea and for some unknown reason, the boss likes it! So now you’re stuck working on some utterly stupid and certain-to-be ineffective project with this doofus. This is what it’s like to be watching Union games with Rigby doing the color and studio analysis.

    – I would hardly say Adu looked “sharp”. The two plays that the author mentioned were his only real contributions to the Union’s cause. His other contributions were corner kicks that didn’t get past the first man, misplaced passes and being caught dribbling.

    – It was a very typical performance from Adu. He does one good thing (pass to Hoppenot) and the rest is pretty bad. Even the corner which Okugo headed off the bar was nothing special. It was just a decent corner that was attacked well by Okugo – something which Adu SHOULD DO EVERY TIME!

    – Hopefully many of them are tired. The Union are a young team and many of them are probably not used to playing for this length of time. I actually don’t think this is the case, but I’m hoping that it is.

    – These players are inept. Passes are frequently going nowhere near a player. Control of the ball is a foreign concept. Attempts to dribble by an opponent lack any sense conviction.

    – The strategy doesn’t seem to be working or the players aren’t grasping it. The only runs that are made are by the forward running behind the defense. No one is making positive runs to support the player with the ball, so Philly always goes backward and gets no penetration in the attacking third of the field. This is the responsibility of the coaches – to devise a system in which players have options when they get the ball.

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  2. In person the game was horrendous to watch. I’ve been going since 1996 and this is one of the worst matches I’ve witnessed. In the 10th minute I told my wife that I would be shocked if either team scored. It was a suck-fest.

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  3. Agreed on the announcers…couple of knucklefaces.

    Trade m. farfan. I want to see him with the national team and the union will never get him there. Also, get somebody who can freaking finish!

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  4. I didn’t see the game, but from the highlights, Hoppenot had at least 3 shots saved by Reis. Hoppenot has a great attacking mindset, puts himself in great spots to receive the ball, can dribble well and is quick enough to beat defenders , but he must start putting more of those opportunities away.

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