HARRISON, N.J. – New England Revolution defender Brandon Bye has urged his team to unleash their frustrations from Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to the New York Red Bulls on the pitch when the Revs return to action on Wednesday night.
Bruce Arena’s side welcome Atlanta United to Gillette Stadium in midweek, seeking an immediate return to winning ways after a controversial night in New Jersey, which saw a last-gasp Andrew Farrell equalizer agonizingly ruled out for an offside infringement, and a red card shown to Latif Blessing.
Bye had leveled on 76 minutes (heading home a Gustavo Bou corner) to cancel out Frankie Amaya’s opener, before Wikelman Carmona struck the winner for the hosts with five minutes of normal time to play. Disappointed to have had a point snatched away with Farrell’s dramatic effort chalked off by VAR, the right back called upon his teammates to use the setback to fuel an instant comeback.
“It’s about bouncing back quickly,” he said. “There’s game on Wednesday, and it’s a home game – we have two in a row at home to end this little stretch. We have to bounce back, and there’s three points available for us on Wednesday.
“It’s disappointing. I think the battle we showed in the second half [was a positive]. In the first half, we really just weren’t understanding the game, and then once we got a man down, guys fought, guys battled, and we can take something from that.
“[The red card was] soft. Down a man for 30 minutes, I think anytime that happens, it's tough – but everybody's got to pick up the slack a little bit, and do a little more, and suffer a little more. For most of the 30 minutes, I think we played hard and played about as well as we could, and then the last call … I didn't get much of an explanation. I’ll have to look back at it and see it myself.
“You learn something from every game. Win, loss or tie, you always learn something. We’ll have some takeaways, but we have to bounce back quickly.”
Bye also hailed the positive impact of the Revs substitutes, as Arena introduced a quadruple change on 68’ to claw the visitors back into the contest at 1-0 down, bringing on fresh legs in Giacomo Vrioni, Ryan Spaulding, Justin Rennicks and debutant Ian Harkes.
The goalscorer noted the contribution of his teammates but admitted his side had taken too long to adapt to the Red Bulls’ style of play in the first instance.
“It was a disappointing goal, but the subs made an impact, for sure,” Bye continued. “Guys came in, they were willing to fight, willing to battle; understanding their roles at the time, and I thought they did well.
“We know how they play – it’s the Red Bulls’ way. Every game we play against them is a tough, physical game – they're winning second balls, they’re attacking everything …
“We have to understand that, and it takes a little bit to get into that mindset. I think once we did, we found some of the ball and were able to connect passes, and get some opportunities.”
With notable contributions at both ends of the pitch, Bye earned deserved praise from his head coach, who also spoke highly of midfielder Harkes’ debut cameo from the bench.
“[Bye] had a solid performance,” Arena declared. “He did a good job, I thought his second half was pretty good.
“[Harkes] did real well. Unfortunately, he deflected that ball for their second goal, but he played really well. It was really encouraging to see.”
Reflecting on the result and overall team performance, Arena felt his side produced a below-par display, and were affected by the absence of captain Carles Gil, who was suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
“It was a poor game, poor quality,” he added. “I think the conditions were tough. We didn’t play well. What more can you say?
“Your team is better when your best player is on the field, in any sport. So, we’re not going to have the same quality when Carles isn’t on the field.”
