CHESTER, Pa. – The Philadelphia Union are prepared for an emotional evening Saturday when they face the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium (7:30 pm ET, watch LIVE online).
How they deal with being the visitors in New England’s first home game since the Boston Marathon bombings remains to be seen.
“There’s a lot of emotion going into this game that we’re definitely going to be a part of,” Union manager John Hackworth said. “I think that’s the good thing about sports sometimes. It’s just a game, but you can bring two teams, a group of people, a city, a community together to watch a good sporting event. Hopefully that’s what this will be.”
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The Union have yet to be in a situation like the one they’ll be in Saturday, but they have fared well on the road this season, scoring seven goals and picking up seven out of a possible 12 points away from PPL Park.
READ: Hackworth says "no sense disrupting" duo of Jack McInerney, Conor Casey
For Hackworth, that’s been a point of pride as well as a point of emphasis.
“It’s not something I think is a fluke,” the Union manager said. “We’ve tried to be consistent about the way we’re playing, the way we’re approaching these games, our game plans going into them. And we hope we can continue that this weekend.”
The Union had a –16 goal differential on the road last season but second-year left back Raymon Gaddis believes a more mature team is the reason road results have been better so far this year.
“Last year, you’d see us go on the road and maybe not get the results we got in D.C. or Colorado,” Gaddis said, referencing the Union's two road victories this season. “Or if we concede a goal, we wouldn’t score a goal. We’ve done a lot of growing up and a lot of people are taking a lot more responsibility this year.”
READ: Union using Sheanon Williams' long throw-ins as a weapon
If the Union can beat New England on Saturday, it would mark the first time the franchise has ever won two consecutive games on the road.
But they know it’s not going to be easy.
“We’re going to have to deal with a lot – not just a good opponent but the emotions of the day,” Hackworth said. “We try to keep all of that in perspective.”
