The Union’s unbeaten run finally ends with a 2-1 loss to New England, in a potential playoff preview
The Revolution walked out of Subaru Park with a 2-1 win, earned by goals from Dor Turgeman in the first half and Carles Gil in the second. Neil Pierre scored a consolation tally in the final minutes.
The Union’s 15-game unbeaten run in league games finally ended Saturday night, at the hands of a team they might see again next month in the playoffs.
New England walked out of Subaru Park with a 2-1 win, earned with goals from Dor Turgeman late in the first half and Carles Gil late in the second. Neil Pierre scored a consolation tally late in second-half stoppage time.
With Cavan Sullivan out injured, Quinn Sullivan stepped into the starting lineup. Everyone knew he had to carry the creative load, and he was assertive on the ball from the start.
The shots were 11-7 in the Union’s favor in the first half, though New England led 4-3 in shots on target.
Among the Union’s notable misses, Frankie Westfield hit the crossbar in the third minute, Milan Iloski failed to finish on a break in the 22nd, and Iloski passed on an attempt in the 43rd where he could have shot. He gave the ball to Indiana Vassilev instead, and his attempt was blocked.
The punishment for that came three minutes into first-half stoppage time, when the Revolution got a free kick. The Union did a poor job of clearing it, the ball landed with Carles Gil, and the veteran playmaker hit an inch-perfect service to Peyton Miller in the six-yard box. He headed the ball across the goalmouth, and Turgeman was on time to stick it in.
The first half was also pretty chippy, and that continued into the second. Referee Malik Badawi got out his yellow card three times in four minutes from the 61st to the 65th, for Bruno Damiani, Jovan Lukić (who could easily have seen red for tackling Dániel Gazdag from behind), and New England’s Jackson Yueill.
Damiani’s booking means he’ll be suspended from Wednesday’s game at Nashville SC (8:30 p.m., Apple TV) for card accumulation. Granted, that game was always ticketed as a likely loss. Nashville has run away with the best record leaguewide, and on Saturday afternoon clinched the Supporters’ Shield with three games to spare.
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Interim Union manager Ryan Richter made his first substitution in the 67th, sending in Agustín Anello for Indiana Vassilev in attacking midfield. It marked Anello’s first appearance in a league game in nearly a month, between an injury and his place on the depth chart.
The second substitution really pushed the gas pedal on the attacking side: striker Malik Jakupović replaced centerback Nathan Harriel in the 82nd, shifting the Union to a 3-4-3 setup.
Jakupović nearly made a quick impact, getting on the end of a Sullivan cross in the 86th but not putting enough force on the shot.
New England promptly dished out the punishment. Gil broke down the left wing unmarked to take in a long ball, reached the edge of the 18-yard box, and was tackled there by Neil Pierre. The offside flag went up initially, but a video review showed him to be onside. Badawi awarded a penalty kick, and it was hard to argue against.
Gil stepped up, scored, and enjoyed a teamwide celebration in front of the River End.
That kicked off 12 minutes of stoppage time, a huge number but a warranted one after many whistles for collisions with potential head injuries.
Pierre’s goal came off a cross from Wagner, as the clock read 101:43 out of an expected 102:00. The Union pushed for an equalizer, with Anello forcing a big save out of Matt Turner at 105:12 off a throw-in play. Westfield shot wide left out of the ensuing corner kick, and that was finally the end.
The Union ended the night still in sixth place in the Eastern Conference (13-11-7, 46 points), close to a playoff berth but not quite there yet. New England rose to second (17-10-4, 55 points) between the win and Inter Miami’s upset loss at Red Bull New York.
