Game Thread: Philadelphia Union 2 Chicago Fire FC 0, Final

Updates

90+8’ – Final Whistle! Union win their first win of the MLS season! It is also Blake’s 40th clean sheet of his career.

90+7’ – Someone earned a yellow card… for something. The broadcast missed it.

90+4’ – Brick Wall Blake making yet another amazing stop, preserving the clean sheet.

90+1’ – Ref handing out a pair of yellow cards to Sergio Santos and Boris Sekulic get into some extracurriculars. Play is now getting checked for a headbutt. Looks like we are clear from any additional punishment.

90’ – All that stands between the Union and their first 3 points of the season is just three minutes.

86’ – Chicago called for a handball inside the penalty area. The fire and their bench are calling for a penalty but nothing it coming from the ref or VAR.

84’ – Gimenez misses a left footed shot from outside the box.

79’ – Mbaizo will come out for the first time this season as Real comes on to replace the full back.

77’ – He is up and is now on the sideline waiting to be waived back onto the pitch.

75’ – Mbaizo is on the pitch and the training staff is out to look at him. Replay shows a chicago play stepping on him.

70’ – Chicago making another change here Espinoza comes on and replaces Omsberg.

61’ – Jim Curtin making his first changes of the afternoon Fontana comes on for McGlynn and Santos replaces Burke.

60’ – GOOOOAAALLL! Glesnes, who has been working on headers, heads the ball from the center of the box to the bottom right corner.

57’ – Fire making three changes here Offor comes on for Collier, Navarro replaces Bornstein, and Medrán comes on the pitch for Stojanovic.

53’ – Chicago’s Sekulic cross finds Beric who uses his left foot to shot from the centre of the box but it goes out to the right side of the net. Union earn a goal kick.

51’ – U coming down the right side and a volleyed ball finds the Union’s firefighter Cory Burke who smashes it into the back of the net! Union up 1-0.

48’ – Wyatt Omsberg earns a yellow card after he wraps up and pulls Kacper Przybylko down by his jersey.

46’ – Union kick the ball off to get the second half underway at 2:11 P.M.. Chicago Fire made a change at half bringing Pineda on for Kappelhof.

Halftime stats

Philadelphia Union
Shots – 9
Shots on Goal – 1
Possession – 47%
Fouls – 6
Yellow Cards – 0

Chicago Fire
Shots – 3
Shots on Goal – 2
Possession – 52%
Fouls – 6
Yellow Cards – 1
45+2’ – Halftime whistle. Teams headed to the locker room at 1:55 p.m..

45’ – Two minutes of stoppage time will be added to the first half.

44’ – Union’s typical issue of not being able to finish in the final third is showing again here. The U had the fire out of position and with numbers but couldn’t convert after multiple passes from right to left and back to right. All of the passes took place inside the penalty area.

40’ – Burke flagged for Offsides.

35’ – Alejandro Bedoya gets a left footed shot off from outside the box but it is too high.

32’ – Chicago corner goes untouched and out for a Union throw-in. Right now the U are playing a lot more on defense here than earlier in the match. After three players surround Gimenez he finally sends the ball over to a free Sekulic. His shot is on low and on the ground directly to a diving Blake.

30’ – Denied. Chicago attack from the right side and gets a shot off but Glesnes stops it from getting to Andre Blake with a nice kick out for a clearance.

26’ – Chicago’s Johan Kappelhof is shown the yellow card.

22’ – Jamiro Monteiro shot from outside the box is too high and too wide to the right.

19’ – FIre earns their first corner of the game. The lofted corner finds the head of a jumping chicago player at the far post and it goes out for a goal kick.

16’ – 2 vs 1 opportunity turns into another block for Chicago as Jack McGlynn gets off a difficult shot from a weird angle on the near side of the net.

14’ – Miss Opportunity! Mbaizo crosses it from the right side of the penalty area to Burke who heads it onto goal but it is saved. Alejandro Bedoya was unable to connect on the second chance.

10’ – Union’s Jamiro Monteiro earn a free kick about 45+ yards out. Jakob Glesnes lines up to take the kick and it goes out above the crossbar for a Chicago goal kick.

9’ – Union attacking here on the far side and switch the point to the near side. A cross into the box is blocked.

7’ – Burke is up and on the sideline and play is restarted.

5’ – Play is stopped as Cory Burke us down on the pitch. Trainers are waived onto the field.

1’ – We have ourselves a game. The Union wearing the bright blue ‘BYU’ kit.

Starting Lineups

Philadelphia Union

Jack McGlynn earns his first start for the Union.

Chicago Fire

Injuries/Absences

The following is a list of names from the league’s player availability report.

How to Watch
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.
When: 1:00 p.m.; Saturday May 8
TV: 6ABC
Radio: Fox Sports The Gambler 1480 AM and 105.3 HD2
Audio Streaming: iHeart Radio App, Fox Sports The Gambler
Video Streaming: Philadelphiaunion.com (in the Philly area), ESPN+ (Outside of the Philly area)*
* BrotherlyGame has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though BrotherylGame and SB Nation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.

Officials
Referee: Marcos de Oliveira
Lineman 1: Eric Boria
Lineman 2: Ian McKay
Fourth official: Greg Dopka
VAR: Daniel Radford
Ast. VAR: Craig Lowry

Pre-Match Reads

More punishment for Martinez

Jose Marinez will be out for an additional two games and was also fined an undisclosed amount for his violent conduct in the Union’s match against New York City FC. The conduct happened during the 14th minute when Martinez clashed with NYCFC striker Taty Castellanos, he was initially served a yellow card.

Unchartered Territory For Philadelphia Union Increases Need For Reinforcements

Playing at a high level, as the Union are, the number of times they have played in this short time is bound to do produce tired legs. In 630 minutes the Union have played this season, 4 players have played in every single one: Jamiro Monteiro, Olivier Mbaizo, Jack Elliott, and Andre Blake.The Union need a few more players that can reliably contribute to a team that is less than a year from hoisting the Supporters’ Shield.