Rate the U: Martínez bite, Bedoya heroics lead to critical 1-0 win

José Andrés Martínez and the back five for the Philadelphia Union bent but didn’t break in thee first half and shut down the potent NYCFC attack in the second half to close out an impressive 1-0 win for the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night.

Martínez, who was sent off for an elbow to the head of Valentín Costellanos in the 16th minute against NYC back in May, redeemed himself and more in what was one of his strongest performances in a Union uniform. Alejandro Bedoya, sporting a new haircut, responded to some of the criticisms in recent weeks with a strong showing that was capped by a game-winning goal off a right footed cross from Kai Wagner.

While NYCFC had 59.1 percent possession on the night — aided in part by the Union’s 67.9 percent passing accuracy — the defense limited their Eastern Conference rivals to just two shots on goal on the night.

Alvas Powell, who replaced the suspended Olivier Mbaizo, was a big part of the stout performance from the D, which got the usual solid showing from the center back pairing of Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliott and the two-way play from Wagner.

What did you think of the performances? Rate the players and head coach Jim Curtin and provide feedback on the match in our Community Player Ratings Poll.