New England Revolution

4 takeaways from the Revolution’s 5-1 defeat against the Philadelphia Union

The injury list doomed any hope of New England getting a result on the road.

By Hayden Bird

July 18, 2024

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The Revolution were routed 5-1 by the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night, with all of the collective problems — fixture congestion, injuries, lack of squad depth — adding up to create a true debacle.

With the defeat, New England sunk back into last place in the Eastern Conference and are now 7-1-14 on the season.

The lone bright spot in an otherwise shambolic night came from Ian Harkes’s goal, a genuine highlight:

Other than that, it was a long night for Caleb Porter’s team.

Here are a few takeaways:

The most makeshift lineup of the Porter era.

The Revolution injury list, already the longest in the league, somehow grew to greater length in the days following the weekend loss against Orlando City.

Along with missing key players Carles Gil, Dylan Borrero, and Tomas Chancalay, New England was also operating without Nick Lima, Noel Buck, and Emmanuel Boateng.

And somehow the bad news didn’t end there: Left back DeJuan Jones and striker Giacomo Vrioni — the latter having been the only of the Revolution’s “Designated Players” still healthy in recent weeks — also missed out due to injuries.

In all, it amounted to the most makeshift lineup that Porter (or perhaps any New England coach) has ever been forced to trot out in a meaningful game.

Porter shifted to a 3-4-3 that more closely resembled a 5-4-1 for much of the night. Dave Romney, Xavier Arreaga, and Jonathan Mensah were the back three. Ryan Spaulding and Andrew Farrell were tasked to play as wing-backs, Harkes and the ever-present Matt Polster featured in center midfield, and academy graduates Esmir Bajraktarevic and Jack Panayotou were deployed in wider attacking roles.

Up top, Bobby Wood was summoned for his first start since Sept. 2023.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, was at almost full strength, with goalkeeper Andre Blake returning to the Starting XI. The mismatch was apparent well before kickoff.

The irony of a lineup featuring four center-backs.

Despite picking a lineup that included four center-backs (with Farrell playing on the right of a back three), Porter’s team looked thoroughly unconvincing defending set pieces for most of the night.

Both of the first two Union goals arrived via set pieces. A free kick sent to the back post in the 29th minute found Jakob Glesnes in front of Spaulding and able to tap the ball back across goal. From there, Tai Baribo shook Mensah’s marking and scored easily with his head.

The second goal arrived after a prolonged siege in front of the Revolution net, as the visitors were unable to clear the ball (resulting in a series of corner kicks). Finally, Glesnes stepped in front of Farrell at the near post and flicked the ball into the far corner to double the Union lead in the 39th minute.

Philadelphia was also able to find paths to goal from open play, cutting the Revolution defense open yet again on a counterattack in the 44th minute. After Mikael Uhre shook loose from Arreaga down the right wing, he cut it back for Baribo, who made a near-post run that Mensah failed to cover. The ensuing finish appeared all too easy for the Israeli striker, and the Union lead 3-0 at halftime.

MLS history was made, but Revolution fans were already trying to forget the performance.

The second half presented slightly more Revolution possession, but no real changes in the game’s dynamic. Harkes’s goal, the lone bright spot, was quickly washed away when Baribo completed his hat-trick barely two minutes later to restore Philadelphia’s three-goal lead.

The only other notable developments in the game arrived via substitutions. The first was when the Union brought on Cavan Sullivan.

Sullivan, who is just 14 years old, became the youngest player in MLS history. The Philadelphia academy product broke Freddy Adu’s famous record, and appeared to acquit himself nicely against professional competition in the game’s closing moments.

Of course, by that point the game had devolved into a rout — the Union added a fifth goal shortly before Sullivan was subbed on — and Porter was subbing off some of New England’s regular starters in anticipation of the game on Saturday at home against FC Dallas.

A footnote to the game was the Revolution MLS debut for outside back Peyton Miller. Miller, who is 16, was subbed on for Spaulding and given some quality minutes to get some experience. While his introduction was overshadowed by Sullivan (setting a record), Miller could himself become an important player down the road.

The transfer window opens on Thursday. Will the reinforcements begin?

Following the recent win streak, injuries derailed New England’s attempt to climb back into the playoff race. Since then, the Revolution have lost four of the team’s last five games, backsliding down the standings.

With as many as six starters out — along with crucial depth players like Boateng and Lima — the result was never going to be good on Wednesday. Any possibility of even notching a tie would’ve been borderline miraculous.

Porter has been vague when discussing the timelines for possible returns from players like Gil and Borrero, both of whom are vital to any Revolution push in the standings.

The only other relief valve that could be utilized is in the transfer market, which opens on Thursday and runs through Aug. 14.

Exactly what New England will do obviously remains to be seen, though Porter has been saying that the team “needs pieces” for several months. Finally, sporting director Curt Onalfo and the front office will have their chance to address some of the holes in the roster.