FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (1-1-4, 7 pts.) played the Philadelphia Union to a scoreless draw at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night in the club’s first match in Foxborough since March 7. Goalkeeper Matt Turner made five saves to register his third shutout of the season, and the team’s third clean sheet in the last four games. New England, now unbeaten in its last five regular season games, has conceded only four goals in league play this season.
Two Revolution players achieved major milestones in tonight’s contest. Midfielder Diego Fagundez made his 247th career appearance as a second-half substitute to eclipse Chris Tierney for sole possession of third place on the club’s all-time games played list. In addition, defender Andrew Farrell recorded his 221st career start, also eclipsing Tierney to move into sole possession of fourth place on the club’s all-time games started chart.
Midfielder Matt Polster, who the Revolution acquired from Scottish Premiership side Rangers FC in July, played 90 minutes in central midfield in his debut for the club.
New England returns to action on Tuesday, Aug. 25, when the club visits D.C. United at Audi Field. The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and in Portuguese on WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
New England Revolution 0, Philadelphia Union 0
August 20, 2020 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Revolution Post Third Shutout of Season
- The Revolution (1-1-4, 7 pts.) played to a scoreless draw with the Philadelphia Union (2-1-3, 9 pts.) in the club’s first home match at Gillette Stadium since March 7.
- The clean sheet was the club’s third in the last four games, all backstopped by goalkeeper
- Matt Turner, who registered five saves in the contest.
- Assistant Coach Richie Williams served as the head coach for New England in place of Bruce Arena, who was suspended due to a red card issued following the club’s July 25 match vs. Philadelphia in the MLS is Back Tournament.
Andrew Farrell Returns to Starting Lineup
- Defender Andrew Farrell made his fourth start of the 2020 MLS regular season in today’s match, playing 90 minutes at center back and finishing with a team-high five clearances and eight possessions gained along with two blocked shots.
- Farrell made the 221st start of his regular season career in today’s match, moving him past Chris Tierney for sole possession of fourth on the Revs’ games started list. He trails former Revolution defender and head coach Jay Heaps (238) by 17 starts.
Diego Fagundez Passes Tierney for Revs Appearances
- Midfielder Diego Fagundez recorded his 247th MLS regular season appearance as a second-half substitute, passing Chris Tierney for third most games played in club history.
- Fagundez, 25, is closing on Shalrie Joseph’s Revolution record of 261 games played, needing only 14 more appearances to match the all-time mark. He also trails Matt Reis (254) on the club list.
Matt Polster Makes Revolution Debut
- Acquired on July 8 from Rangers FC, midfielder Matt Polster made his first appearance for the club, starting and playing 90 minutes in defensive midfield.
- Polster led New England in passing percentage, completing 58 of his 65 passes (89.2 percent), and recorded seven possessions gained.
Revolution Make Three Changes to Starting Lineup
- The Revolution made three changes to the starting lineup from New England’s last match in the MLS is Back Tournament Round of 16 on July 25 vs. Philadelphia.
- Henry Kessler, Matt Polster, and Teal Bunbury replaced Antonio Delamea, Wilfried Zahibo, and Tajon Buchanan in the Starting XI.
- Gustavo Bou wore the captain’s armband for the first time since a 1-1 draw against Chicago Fire FC on March 7 and for the third time this season.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referees: Claudiu Badea (AR1), Ian McKay (AR2)
Fourth Official: Adam Kilpatrick
Assistant Video Referee: Alan Kelly
Weather: 73 degrees and clear
Attendance: N/A
Scoring Summary:
None
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Brandon Bye (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 25’
NE – Matt Polster (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 44’
PHI – Mark McKenzie (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 50’
PHI – Jack Elliott (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 53’
New England Revolution: Matt Turner; Brandon Bye (DeJuan Jones 64’), Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler, Alexander Büttner; Matt Polster, Gustavo Bou ©, Kelyn Rowe (Justin Rennicks 86’); Cristian Penilla (Diego Fagundez 75’), Teal Bunbury (Tajon Buchanan 65’), Adam Buksa.
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jeff Caldwell, Michael Mancienne, Seth Sinovic, Scott Caldwell.
Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake; Raymon Gaddis, Jack Elliott, Mark McKenzie, Matt Real (Olivier Mbaizo 76’); Alejandro Bedoya ©, Jose Martinez, Jamiro Monteiro, Brenden Aaronson (Warren Creavalle 89’); Kacper Przybyłko (Andrew Wooten 76’), Sergio Santos (Ilsinho 63’).
Substitutes Not Used: Joe Bendik, Jakob Glesnes, Anthony Fontana, Jack De Vries, Cole Turner.
