The Philadelphia Union came into their matchup on Saturday night with one thing in mind. Climb back on top of the MLS Eastern Conference standings. To do so they would need to best the pesky New York Red Bulls who sit just a point behind the Union. Philly will also be looking to finish their 6th consecutive game at home without a loss.
First Half
Mistimed passes and defense miscues were the story of the first two minutes at Subaru Park. However, both teams seemed to settle in with Philadelphia make the first real attempt to get into scoring position in the 4’. Unfortunately, their shot attempt was deflected out of bounds leading to a lost possession. A free kick by Julian Caranza went nowhere in the 9’ as the Union failed to take advantage of a penalty just above the semi-circle. Jakob Glesnes got it going defensively in the 16’ minute with a sick tackle on a Red Bull scoring attempt. Keeping the game tied a 0. Philly had a close call in the 33’ minute as a corner kick from Kai Wagner was nearly sent through the net before it was saved. Neither team was able to get a shot on target for the next 12 minutes, and after 1’ of stoppage time the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
Second Half
The home team wasted no time getting on the board in the second half. Great defense at midfield opened the door for Sergio Santos to hit Daniel Gazdag as he charged the net for the easy score, and 1-0 lead. A second yellow card infraction on Dylan Nealis led to his ejection. As Nealis left the pitch he was greeted by a chorus of “You F’ed Up” from the Subaru Park faithful. The Red Bulls did not let being man down stop them as they were able to tie the game at 1-1 in the 66’ as Andre Blake was caught out of position. After a lot of failed possession and sloppy play the Union finally appeared to answer back with a goal off a head pass. However, Caranza was ruled to be offsides after review. While Philly would get its fair share of chances to climb back on top regulation ended with the score still knotted at 1 goal apiece. And that’s how it would end a 1-1 draw.