Philadelphia Union thrash New England Revolution 3-1 in dominant game one showing in best-of-3 playoff series

Three first half goals from the Philadelphia Union saw them coast to an easy 1-0 series lead over the New England Revolution in Round One of playoffs.

TELL ME MORE: Union's Hungarian international Daniel Gazdag opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 19th minute, with German attacker Mikael Uhre doubling the lead seven minutes later. Overwhelmed by the pressure from Philadelphia, the Revs conceded a third goal in the 37th minute after Nathan Harriel found the back of the net.

New England's Argentine forward Gustavo Bou earned them a goal back in the 68th minute, and it felt like a potential comeback could be on the cards, but Philly locked down their defense and held the midfield firm.

The worrying takeaway from the Round One bout is that Revs star midfielder Carles Gil was substituted out early in the first half due to injury, while the Union's brilliant striker Julian Carranza left due to a knock as well.

THE MVP: Jim Curtin: The Union coach has to feel incredible right now. It was an utterly dominant showing and his side bested a team who just beat them last week. Getting that initial 1-0 series lead is crucial, because if you do fall in game 2, you know that you're still set to return home for game 3 where you already earned a result.

THE BIG LOSER: Clint Peay: The interim New England Revolution coach got every single tactic right on Decision Day, where the Revs beat the Union 1-0, but Saturday saw his side embarrassed on the road. The decision to go with young goalkeeper Jacob Jackson proved to be costly, too, as the 23-year-old was at fault for the opening goal after committing a foul in the box leading to the eventual Gazdag goal.

WHAT NEXT THE REVS AND UNION? Game two of the best-of-3 series takes place on