Union stop losing streak with 3-0 win over 10-man New England

The Philadelphia Union (4-4-5) took care of business against the New England Revolution (2-9-1), winning 3-0. The Union had previously lost four of their previous five matches, but a match against a 10-man Revolution side sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference gave them a chance to reset.

The Union’s attack was led by Julian Carranza, who scored once, and Daniel Gazdag, who scored twice. Mikael Uhre also had several good looks at goal but failed to score.

A red card to Ryan Spaulding in the 14th minute set the Revolution back, and New England was never able to recover.

The Union found their first chance of the match in the 11th minute, as Alejandro Bedoya found himself with the ball at his feet in the box. A quick turn and shot from Bedoya didn’t amount to a goal, though, and Alijaz Ivacic got to the shot with a diving save.

New England’s Spaulding received a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity in the 14th minute for his tackle on Uhre. Spaulding pushed Uhre from behind on a breakaway run as the last defender available for New England. The Union were unable to create anything from the ensuing free kick.

Moments later, Henry Kessler and Carranza got into a spat, resulting in a caution for Kessler. Once again, the Union weren’t able to do much with the ensuing free kick.

Jose Martinez went down with an injury in the 25th minute, giving New England a chance to regroup. He was subbed off for Jack McGlynn shortly after.

Nathan Harriel drew a yellow card while stopping a promising New England attack in the 30th minute as Filip Dujic continued to try to control the match.

Matt Polster nearly gave New England the lead in the 33rd minute, as he got hold of a volley in the penalty area. However, his shot sailed just over the net. Carranza did the same with his shot just two minutes later as both sides searched for a score before halftime.

Carranza finally found his goal in the 39th minute, as his soaring header was undefendable from Ivacic. McGlynn’s cross found Carranza perfectly on the far side of the net.

McGlynn nearly found the net moments later, forcing Ivacic to make an impressive save in the 43rd minute in the top-left corner of the net. Gazdag forced the same from Ivacic in the top-right corner in stoppage time. While the Revolution were still pushing, the Union were reaping the advantages of the man advantage.

The two sides weren’t able to challenge for goal much more other than a shot from Dylan Borrero in the dying moments of stoppage time, and they went into the break with Philadelphia up 1-0.

Gazdag got the Union going moments into the second half. While Uhre missed his shot off the right post, Gazdag found himself with the ball at his feet and neatly gave the Union a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute.

Harriel tried to get a goal of his own in the 55th minute but skied his shot over the net. With Gazdag’s goal, the Union had established control of the match and put New England on its heels. Minutes later, McGlynn tried to push his shot to the bottom-right corner.

Uhre nearly found his goal in the 62nd minute via a cheeky backheel attempt near the net. Uhre’s placement was perfect, but Ivacic still got to the shot in time. Uhre and Carranza were inches for combining for a goal less than a minute later, as Uhre’s low cross across the face of the goal was just too far for Carranza’s outstretched leg to make contact.

The Union took off Uhre and Harriel for Quinn Sullivan and Olivier Mbaizo, respectively, in the 67th minute.

Despite the score differential, the Revolution continued to push for a goal. While New England struggled to put much together on the attack, it began threatening more often around the 70th minute. Forward Giacomo Vrioni attempted a cheeky heel shot in the 75th minute, though it went nowhere near the net as the Revolution began getting desperate.

Gazdag sealed the game in the 80th minute as he scored from the same location he did earlier in the match. After Sullivan’s shot was saved by Ivacic, Gazdag found the ball at his feet near the six-yard box and quickly put the game away.

In the 89th minute, the Union replaced Gazdag and Carranza with Jeremy Rafanello and Tai Baribo, respectively.

Despite a drawn-out stoppage time, neither the Union nor the Revolution found the net for the duration of the match, and Philadelphia left Gillette Stadium with its first points since a draw in D.C. Oliver Semmle had to make a goal-line save in the last seconds of the match to preserve his clean sheet, but the Union’s victory had already been certain.

The Union will return to action on Saturday, May 25, when they take on Charlotte FC on the road.