Revolution Fall to Philadelphia Union 3-0, Embark on Three-Game Road Trip Still Searching for Answers

FOXBORO, Mass. — With a three-game road trip coming up for the Revolution, starting with a game against D.C. United on Wednesday, New England was hoping to leave Foxboro on a good note. But the opposite happened Sunday night.

The Philadelphia Union handled the Revs with ease, winning 3-0 in the final home game of the month of July for the Revs.

It was not a pretty performance by New England, causing head coach Steve Nicol to say in the first half that his players were "playing like a bunch of school boys."

You would think that comments like that from Nicol would incite his team to score some goals, but it simply didn't happen. The Revs played better in the second half, but were still unable to get a goal on the scoreboard.

"We talked after the Salt Lake game that everyone needs to take a look at themselves and we really have to get on the same page," goalkeeper Matt Reis said after the loss. "It was very uninspired out there and we didn't show all of the stuff that we needed to do. All in all it was a terrible game."

Revolution defender Chris Tierney thinks the team needs to come together in order to right the ship.

"We're fighting for our lives at this point," Tierney said. "We've been getting on each other's cases a little bit and frustration is setting in. At the end of the day, we have to fight harder and work for each other, and we're doing the opposite right now."

The Revs were in trouble from the very beginning after a very flat start.

"We didn't come out with a distinct game plan, and we didn't come out and try to put the game in our hands," defender Kevin Alston said. "We let [the Union] dictate the game early on."

With team captain and goals leader Shalrie Joseph absent due to a suspension, the Revs suffered from communication issues throughout the game. While Joseph will be back with the team on Wednesday, the Revs will be missing Benny Feilhaber after he received a red card during Sunday's game. Not being able to get both Joseph and Feilhaber, two very important players for New England, on the field at the same time is a case of extremely bad luck.

Clearly, things are not going well for the Revs. The loss drops them to 3-9-7 this season, and they have not won a game since May.

You could feel the concern in the air in the locker room after Sunday's loss. Things will not get any easier in D.C. on Wednesday.

"You just try to put [the loss] behind you, it's tough," Tierney said about preparing for Wednesday's match against D.C. United. "Hopefully you let this feeling motivate you and you use it as fuel to really get stuck in on Wednesday."

The Revolution will remain in last place after the loss, and the fans have to hope that Tierney is right.

The Revs can either sink further into despair or let a terrible loss like this push them back toward their winning ways. Let's hope it's the latter because the Revs' spirits cannot get much lower at this point.