In front of a crowd of 18,279 at PPL Park, the Philadelphia Union increased their record to 4-1-1 with a 1-nil victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. Both managers made changes to their starting XI. For the Union, Peter Nowak chose to start youngsters and fan favorites Roger Torres and Danny Mwanga and decided to go with only 1 defensive midfielder hoping to give his offense a much needed spark. With the Quakes off to such a dismal start, Frank Yallop gave 5 players their first start of the 2011 season. One of the casualties of these changes was the 2010 MLS Comeback Player of the Year & Northeast Philly native Bobby Convey.
The addition of Torres to the starting lineup helped the Union control possession in the first 45 minutes, and San Jose’s changes helped sure up their defense. Neither side really tested the other in a first half that was plagued by fouls, cards, and poor officiating. The first yellow card of the game was given to The Union’s Amobi Okugo in the 27th minute for a reckless challenge. A few minutes later, Philadelphia’s GK Faryd Mondragon & San Jose’s Brandon McDonald both received yellows for unsporting behavior after Mondragon & Chris Wondolowski collided. In the 39th minute the Union had a chance to take the lead. Mwanga played a ball in for Sebastien Le Toux whose cross found Carlos Ruiz, but his shot was blocked without troubling the keeper. The game changed completely when Jordan Harvey of the Union was given a straight red card. While stepping over a sliding Chris Leitch, the thought was that Harvey kicked him. To everyone at the game and probably most watching the game on TV, this wasn’t even a foul let alone a red card.
Philadelphia made 2 changes to start the 2nd half. Michael Farfan and Stefani Miglioranzi replaced Torres and Mwanga. Despite being down a man, the Union continued to control the game. All of their hard work and determination paid off when Okugo took the ball to the end line and had his cross blocked by the arm of Jason Hernandez in the box which was spotted by the ref who award a penalty kick in the 76th minute. Le Toux stepped up and slotted home his first goal of the year. The Union held strong for the rest of the game with Danny Califf and Carlos Valdes neutralizing Wondolowski the entire game.
This was a hard fought and well deserved victory for the Philadelphia Union. While I’m sure most fans would like to see more goals, they are all going to be happy with another win and clean sheet. Up next for Philly is a trip out to Portland to play the Timbers on Friday night.
(image courtesy of Jeff Kirby)
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