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Revs respond to Brad Friedel's scathing criticism with first win of season

Brad Friedel called out his New England Revolution during the week. Apparently, it worked. (Getty)

Maybe Brad Friedel knew what he was doing?

Days after calling out his New England Revolution for not giving full effort, the Revs scored two well-earned goals and beat Minnesota United 2-1 on Saturday.

The win is the first of the season for New England, which had managed a single paltry point from four matches and had been outscored 8-3 coming in.

Last Sunday’s dispiriting capitulation against Major League Soccer newbie FC Cincinnati sparked a closed-door meeting during which Revs manager Friedel criticized his team’s work rate.

He went even harder at his players in a story that ran in the Boston Globe, claiming that losing “doesn’t hurt enough” for MLS players and “they don’t have the pressures they have in other leagues.”

Maybe that’s what the Revs needed to hear. Saturday’s performance certainly wasn’t evidence to the contrary.

Center back Jalil Anibaba barreled forward 10 minutes in and dove to head a ball from Carles Gil past Minnesota goalkeeper Vito Mannone:

After Darwin Quintero’s penalty kick leveled things midway through the first half, New England’s Brandon Bye crashed the far post just past the hour mark to turn what looked like a tame miss from Teal Bunbury into the game-winning goal:

The Revs managed 19 shots and nine corner kicks, which somewhat indicates the increased effort that was apparent to all viewers.

Who knows if Friedel’s candor will kickstart the club’s campaign for its first playoff berth since 2015. It certainly worked for one week.

Joey Gulino is the editor of Yahoo Soccer and moonlights as a writer. Follow him on Twitter at @JGulinoYahoo.

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