The Union are improving, but a blown lead in a loss at New England shows there’s still work to do

You can see the Union’s progress if you look closely.

It’s in Cavan Sullivan making his third straight league start on Saturday at New England, and making piercing runs up the left side into the opposing defense.

It’s in the Union’s collective defending through a six-minute stretch of the first half when Frankie Westfield was on the sideline, after getting hit in the hip in a collision.

It’s in Milan Iloski creating a goal with a sprint through two Revolution defenders, then a touch that hit a third in Will Sands and flew past a helpless Matt Turner.

It’s in Ezekiel Alladoh being engaged more and being near the ball more, even if it’s still in fits and starts. In the 57th minute, for example, when Alladoh made a hard run, Sullivan sprung him into the 18-yard box beautifully, but the shot went over the bar.

Or two minutes later, when Sullivan danced into the box and hit a low pass that Turner sprawled to punch straight to Alladoh. The striker made the right instinctive move for a first-time shot that was unluckily blocked on the line. His pain at missing was seen on camera upon being subbed off soon thereafter.

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But for all that, you do still have to look closely, because the part that matters most still isn’t there: wins.

That miss was far from the only reason why the Union lost, 2-1, conceding undoubtedly preventable goals in the 61st and 87th minutes. No, a first defeat to New England since 2023 — snapping a six-game run of wins — was a teamwide matter.

Even though this Union team clearly lacks the kind of game-changing talent that New England’s goal scorers Luca Langoni and Carles Gil possess, a team that prides itself so much on defense should still have been able to take a tie home.

“Really disappointed to concede the two goals in the fashion we did after rallying and working so hard,” manager Bradley Carnell said afterward. “And just a cycle of currently where we are: we have the 2-0 on the tips of our feet, and that changes the complexion of the game. You take the 2-0 lead there away from home, I think the outcome becomes totally different.”

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If you figure he’d have gone on to criticize Alladoh for not finishing the chance, that didn’t happen. It likely wouldn’t have regardless, since it’s not Carnell’s style. But this was really about what’s stuck in the Union’s heads.

“Currently, where we are now, that type of emotional hit sets a tone, sets a pattern,” Carnell said. “And that’s something, unfortunately, we have to ride with.”

It surely would have helped if Westfield hadn’t suffered that injury. Carnell said the defender went from Gillette Stadium to a local hospital to get X-rays, and there weren’t any more details at that point.

The manager’s chosen substitutions weren’t really to blame for this either. He swapped both forwards and both attacking midfielders over the last half-hour, balancing the push for another goal with the need to bolster the defense by bringing in Alejandro Bedoya.

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“We saw that the 10s [attacking midfielders] ran out of gas, we saw that the 9s [strikers] were struggling,” Carnell said, with that including an apparent hyperextended elbow Iloski suffered on the Union’s goal. “Trying to get fresh legs on there and trying to get similar moments that Cavan had in the first half, with Agustín Anello rolling out on the other side. It didn’t work for us.”

Now the Union aren’t just the only team in the Eastern Conference with one win (1-8-3). They’re the only team with fewer than three. And they risked being the last one left, since the other two — St. Louis and Kansas City — both played later Saturday night.

So at least for the moment, Carnell’s team didn’t have to take ownership of the leaguewide basement six months after taking ownership of the Supporters’ Shield. But that really isn’t much consolation with three games left until the World Cup break, one of which is at next-to-last-in-the-East Orlando on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

Then it’s back home for the last time before the break, hosting the Columbus Crew on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). After that will come the game where the talent gap is always the most obvious: a visit to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami the night before Memorial Day.

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Even better, that game will be televised on big Fox, as the World Cup broadcaster helps bring down the curtain on the unofficial first half of the season.

Most of the audience that will tune in won’t be there to see the Union, of course. But if Carnell’s team is still in last place at that point, it will be even more glaring.

The lack of goals from Alladoh and Bruno Damiani is still the biggest problem of all. The second-biggest might now be a mental issue. Carnell’s acknowledgment of that Saturday night was a step.

For all that needs fixing, the mental side might now have to come first.