Revolution aim to build momentum vs. Union (Jul 29, 2017)
Teal Bunbury and the New England Revolution play host to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass., in a meeting of two teams trying to get their seasons back on track.
Last Saturday, the Revolution (6-9-5) snapped a four-game winless streak in league play with a 4-3 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Gillette Stadium to begin the second half.
Bunbury, who has two starts this season, powered the Revs with two goals in a three-minute span after entering as a sub in the 65th minute. He has three goals in his last two matches.
The 27-year-old forward admitted he was playing with an edge after coach Jay Heaps opted not to start him and said he believes he deserves to be a starter.
"I give him all the credit because he took (the decision not to start him) hard, but carried himself well, came to the locker room and had a smile on his face but was angry," Heaps told MLSSoccer.com. "He went out and turned that game on its head. It was awesome."
Philadelphia (7-9-5) is also coming off a win after blanking the Crew 3-0 on Wednesday at home after losing 1-0 at Columbus last Saturday.
Ilsinho, C.J. Sapong and Marcus Epps each scored for the Union in Wednesday's win, with Sapong netting his team-leading 10th goal.
It marked the third time Sapong has reached double-digit goals in a single season, and he also had two assists in the game and ranks third on the team with five.
"It's just a stat," Sapong told MLSSoccer.com. "I want to continue to keep helping my team. This next half of the season, I need to keep performing and producing to help my team."
With 26 points, the Union are five points behind the Crew for sixth place -- the final playoff spot -- in the Eastern Conference. New England is 10th in the East, eight points behind Columbus.
Philadelphia goalie Andre Blake will be sidelined for Saturday's match after the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year sustained a hand injury playing for Jamaica in the Gold Cup on Wednesday. John McCarthy will likely start in Blake's place.
Fafa Picault is also questionable for the Union with a left hamstring strain. Daigo Kobayashi (hamstring) and Xavier Kouassi (quad) are both questionable for New England.
In their first meeting of the season, the Union blanked the Revolution 3-0 on July 2. Philadelphia leads the all-time series 10-5-4.
