New England Revolution

“It’s a red card 15 minutes into the game. It ruined the whole game.”

The Revolution lost 3-0 to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, prolonging the club’s ignominious stay at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The latest defeat resulted from a lack of chance creation in front of goal (a common thread this season) and poor marking on the defensive end. Goals from Philadelphia’s Julian Carranza and two from Daniel Gazdag thoroughly dismissed Caleb Porter’s team, who have now lost by multiple goals in six of the team’s nine losses in MLS this season.

The game’s fault line arrived in the 14th minute, when left back Ryan Spaulding—occupying the deepest position on the field normally held by center-backs—failed to control a cross-field pass from winger Esmir Bajraktarevic.

Union forward Mikael Uhre pounced on Spaulding’s momentary mistake, bursting forward toward New England’s goal. The Revolution left back, attempting to stop Uhre’s breakaway, fouled him and was shown a straight red card (having prevented a clear goal-scoring opportunity as the last player).

Spaulding’s dismissal left New England with 10 players for the remainder of the night, and the home team never fully regained the initiative.

Here are a few takeaways from another difficult game for the Revolution:

Philadelphia won the positional battle even before the red card.

While postgame discussion inevitably centered around Spaulding’s red card, the moments leading up to it (and virtually the entire game after it) were determined by the Union’s ability to control space in the middle of the field.

Philadelphia head coach Jim Curtin deployed his team in a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond, while Porter continued with the standard 4-2-3-1. During the brief opening period when it was still 11 vs. 11, New England was able to control possession.

Yet as has been a point of discussion all too often this season, the Revolution were unable to consistently convert the possession into shots, or even get the ball into the attacking third.

And while Bajraktarevic’s pass to Spaulding prior to the red card was probably a mistake (having ignored a closer option to holding midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye), it was also indicative of the fact that the Union defensive structure forced New England into numerous passes heading away from the visitors’ goal.

The ensuing red card itself was deserved, as Spaulding was clearly the last outfield defender and it was certainly a foul. Porter took a relatively unsparing view of his left back, though he still managed to find a way to dispute the referee’s decision.

“It’s a red card 15 minutes into the game. It ruined the whole game,” Porter told reporters afterward. “Don’t lose the ball and if you lose the ball, then run with the guy and don’t foul him. I still think it’s harsh. They’re both grabbing each other. I’ve seen that play called a yellow many times, but we should never put ourselves in that situation. We lose the ball there and we can’t foul 50 yards from goal.”

Poor marking doomed New England’s chances of getting a result.

The universal path to still getting a result (be it a draw or a win) when down to 10 players requires defensive discipline and organization. New England seemed able to attain this for short stretches, and in certain positions, but could not maintain it across the field.

The Union engineered a breakthrough in the 38th minute when substitute Jack McGlynn found himself in ample space on the left wing, and was able to make an inch-perfect cross to Carranza at the back post (who nodded the ball into the net).

McGlynn, a highly-rated 20-year-old Philadelphia academy graduate, is known for his ability to deliver quality crosses. Allowing him time and space was always a recipe for disaster.

In the second half, the Union piled on two more goals via Gazdag. In both cases, the scoring resulted from rebounds (one off the post, the other via a quality stop from New England goalkeeper Alijaz Ivacic). And in both cases, Gazdag was unmarked and allowed to take a touch to compose himself before applying the finish.