The Philadelphia Union finished off a 3 game road trip with a strong performance in their 3-0 win over the New England Revolution. That win gave the Union 5 points out of 9 on offer from this road stand. It also put Philly back atop the Eastern Conference, 2 points clear of RBNY with 2 games in hand.
Philadelphia started the game well. They controlled possession and used crisp passing to allow their offense to develop. Carlos Ruiz, who returned to the starting lineup after being given last week off, scored an acrobatic goal with a leaping side volley off a headed ball from Keon Daniel. That was his 6th goal for the Union. Philly continued keeping pressure on New England. Kyle Nakazawa played in a nice free kick from 35 yards out that found a driving Sebastien LeToux who’s perfectly placed header was met by a charging Carlos Valdes who placed the ball into the net with a strike similar to that of Ruiz’ earlier goal. That was Valdes’ 1st MLS goal. Philadelphia finished out the rest of the half playing beautiful soccer.
Philadelphia looked like they were late out of the tunnel for the 2nd half. They controlled possession, while the game that the Union played in the 1st half took a little while to develop once the 2nd half started. As Philadelphia’s offense was trying to figure out how to handle New England’s 3-5-2 formation, their defense was playing solid although the Revolution did have 2 scoring opportunities with 1 shot hitting off the outside of the goal post. About midway through the 2nd half, the Union took control once again after New England’s Benny Feilhaber received a 2nd yellow card both of which were for dirty challenges. Philadelphia took advantage of being up a man and made the Revs chase the ball around the pitch. Just when I thought the Union would close out the game with a 2-0 win, Sheanon Williams comes flying down the field and toe pokes in his 1st MLS goal giving the Union a 3-0 win.
I hope to see more of this style of play from Philadelphia in the 2nd part of the season. This match was an overall great group effort. Philadelphia surpassed their 2010 season total for road wins and kept their 7th clean sheet of the year. Philadelphia is idle in league play until they host Colorado at PPL Park on July 29.
The Union may be idle in the league but has a busy week ahead of them. On Wednesday night they face Everton FC from the English Premier League at PPL Park. Saturday night Philly hosts Real Madrid at Lincoln Financial Park. While these matches are friendlies, they are great opportunities to promote the MLS to the rest of the soccer world.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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