FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It's time for the New England Revolution to play like their jobs depend on it, according to veteran goalkeeper Matt Reis. That starts when they face D.C. United on Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET, watch LIVE online).
Although the Revs entered Sunday night's 3-0 defeat to Philadelphia rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, they offered up little resistance before succumbing to the Union at Gillette Stadium.
Tierney said the situation must change as the Revs attempt to end their nine-match winless drought and secure their first road victory of the season — and claim a league double over United at RFK Stadium in the process.
“We're fighting for our lives at this point,” midfielder Chris Tierney told MLSsoccer.com after Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Philadelphia. “We need three points and nothing less, and we're not playing like it. We've been getting on each other's case a little bit and frustration's setting in, but, at the end of the day, we have to fight harder and work for each other.”
They'll need to put up some effort in a hurry and play like a quality side as their situation grows more dire. With each passing match, their margin for error decreases and the path to the playoffs gets more and more cloudy.
“I think everybody needs to realize that they're playing for their jobs and their livelihood,” Reis said. “I think everyone's out here thinking everything's great and everything's fine but, in the end, if we keep sucking like this, then guys are going to be out of jobs.”
That job description currently involves finding a way to kick off this three-match road trip — visits to Colorado (Saturday) and Sporting Kansas City (July 30) follow in short order — by collecting all three points against United.
Shalrie Joseph's return from a one-match ban should strengthen the Revs as they attempt to achieve that objective. Joseph and Ryan Cochrane are poised to reclaim their spots in the starting XI after missing out against the Union, but Benny Feilhaber will sit out after his second-half dismissal on Sunday. Home Grown midfielder Diego Fagundez has earned a place on the travel roster and could make his MLS debut at some stage.
With Joseph back into the lineup, the Revs should look a bit more coordinated and organized against United as they seek to claim their first league victory since a 1-0 victory over Vancouver on May 14.
“When you're missing a presence like Shalrie out there, it's difficult to replicate what he does,” Reis said. “Guys have to step up in those positions and we all have to step up as a team to cover for him. That didn't happen. It was dead in the locker room before the game even started. For us, we're on the bottom of the heap looking up. It's not looking good.”
