Philadelphia Union
Union clinch playoff berth with 1-0 win over Cincinnati
Though it wasn’t really in doubt the Philadelphia Union officially punched their ticket to the postseason with a 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati on Saturday night that also gave them some breathing room atop the standings.
Bruno Damiani scored the lone goal of the night four minutes after halftime on a lovely assist from Milan Iloski and the Union defense help up for a half hour after Olwethu Makhanya was shown a second yellow to win their seventh road contest of the season. The home loss was the third in a row for Cincinnati, which remained in second place despite the loss.
Andrew Rick, making his second straight start after replacing an injured Andre Blake in the loss at the New York Red Bulls, was excellent on the night making five saves to record his sixth clean sheet in 12 starts this season and seventh of his career.
After Makhanya was sent off for a second yellow, the Union kept up their pressure and were able to created a couple chances despite being down a man. Perhaps more importantly the Union were able to see the game out without conceding a stoppage time equalizer, something that has been one of the few Achilles heels this season.
Kai Wagner put in a strong shift at left back and Jakob Glesnes made a potential goal-saving tackle with a sliding challenge he had to get right to see yellow instead of red just before halftime. Iloski nearly opened the scoring with a shot that just missed the mark in the first half, Tai Baribo had a near miss from inside the six and Quinn Sullivan hit woodwork early.
The Union will get next weekend off for the international break before a key week that includes a long road trip to Vancouver (Sept. 13) and a U.S. Open Cup semifinal (Sept. 16) in Nashville. Though the game against Cincinnati was heavily billed – and there was plenty of hyperbole along those lines in the broadcast – the next two matches are perhaps even bigger for a team that is still in line to win three major trophies heading into September with the U.S. Open Cup, Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup still in play.
