Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia Union unbeaten streak ends against Revs
The Philadelphia Union lost 2-1 to the New England Revolution at home on Saturday, ending their 15-game unbeaten streak. Dor Turgeman scored the Revs’ first-half goal during stoppage time. Their second goal was a penalty scored by Carles Gil. Neil Pierre scored the Union’s only goal in the last minute with a header.
As the regular season winds down, the Union would’ve walked away with a clinched playoff spot if they won against New England. A win would’ve also put them in a better chance of getting a higher seed for the playoffs.
The Union started out on attack when Frankie Westfield hit the crossbar from the right side of the box in the third minute.
The Revs attacked relentlessly until the 22nd minute. Westfield sent a long through ball up to Milan Iloski, who stayed ahead of the defender to block the ball. Iloski dribbled all the way to goal, but failed to chip Matt Turner, sending the ball out for a corner.
New England had their first real shot on target in the 27th minute. Former Union midfielder Daniel Gazdag took a one-time finish from the left side, which Andre Blake saved. The Revs continued to attack as Gazdag fired a volley from close range, but Blake denied him again.
In the 48th minute, a cross from the right side found an unmarked Peyton Miller. His header was off target but was just short enough for Turgeman to get there for an easy tap-in to give New England the lead.
The Revs maintained 61% of the ball as the first half came to a close with the Revs up 1-0, and the Union with work to do in the second half.
The Union attacked for the first ten minutes of the first half. In the 58th minute, Indiana Vassilev and Kai Wagner had some miscommunication in the back. Vassilev’s pass went straight to Gil, who took a shot that headed for the left post. Blake fully stretched and dove, just getting his fingertips on the ball to save the Union.
In the 70th minute, the Union started to become desperate for a goal. However, constant crosses and through balls weren’t connecting. In the 78th minute, Wagner headed the ball in front of the left post, where Iloski tapped it into the bottom left. Turner got there just in time to trap the ball.
The Union had another big chance as Quinn Sullivan ran into extended space on the right side. His cross reached Malik Jakupovic between the penalty spot and the six-yard box. Jakupovic did not get good contact for a shot as it bounced to Turner.
A couple of plays later, Gil found himself at the edge of the box with just Pierre to beat. Pierre’s slide tackle came in just too late in the box, but Gil was called offside. However, after an extensive VAR review, referee Malik Badawi overturned the call, giving New England a Penalty in the 90th minute. Gil was flawless from the spot, putting the Revs up 2-0.
With 12 minutes added, the Union pushed forward, trying to keep their playoff clinch alive. The end of the match didn’t look promising as they were unable to connect more crosses. However, in the 102nd minute, Pierre put one on the board for the Union from a cross on the left side by Wagner.
The Union had a couple more chances until the 106th minute, but did not manage to tie the game.
With three regular season games left, the Union sits at sixth in the Eastern Conference, four points above Orlando City SC and only one behind Charlotte, pending their match on Saturday night.
The Boys in Blue will face Nashville SC, which clinched the Supporters’ Shield on Saturday, away on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
