NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. PHILADELPHIA UNION
Red Bull Arena | Harrison, N.J.
Saturday, Oct. 1| Week #30| MLS Game #307
7 pm ET (MLS LIVE, The Comcast Network, MSG)
A massive match at the top end of the Eastern Conference is ahead when the New York Red Bulls play host to Philadelphia Union on Saturday evening at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls secured their place in the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs last weekend with a 1-0 win against the Montréal Impact, still with the top seed in the conference in play with three games to go. Union have not booked their postseason ticket, but have a six-point gap on seventh place with three games to play, despite having their winless run extended to four games in a 1-1 draw at Toronto FC last weekend.
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- Daniel Royer scored his first MLS goal, giving the Red Bulls a 1-0 win against the Montréal Impact on Saturday evening at Red Bull Arena that extended their club-record undefeated streak to 13 games and sealed a place in the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs. The Red Bulls last lost on July 3, and are unbeaten in their last 16 matches in all competitions entering the week.
- Alejandro Bedoya scored his first MLS goal as Union saw their winless run extended to four games, with a second draw in that time, following a 1-1 result with Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. C.J. Sapong and Chris Pontius scored a minute apart, midway through the second half, as Union overcame a pair of first-half goals from the Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan to fashion a 2-2 draw July 17 at Talen Energy Stadium.
- The teams met earlier this year in a U.S. Open Cup fifth-round match, Chris Pontius scoring a pair of goals to lead Union to a 2-1 win June 29 at Talen Energy Stadium. It was the third time the clubs have met in the Open Cup, Union advancing each of the last two seasons.
- Union won 2-0 last May 24 at Red Bull Arena, their first-ever win in Harrison; the Red Bulls had gone 5-0-1 in their first six home games vs. Philadelphia, and also won a U.S. Open Cup tie there. Last year’s Red Bulls win in Chester was their first there since the 2012 season.
REFEREE: Jose Carlos Rivero. AR1 (bench): Corey Parker; AR2 (opposite): James Conlee; 4th: Mathieu Bourdeau
MLS Career: 65 games; FC/gm: 26.9; Y/gm: 3.9; R: 17; pens: 29
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: NYR: Connor Lade, Felipe Martins … PHI: Brian Carroll, Raymon Gaddis
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NYR: Ronald Zubar, Chris Duvall … PHI: Ken Tribbett, Tranquillo Barnetta, Joshua Yaro, Alejandro Bedoya
DISABLED LIST: NYR: Gideon Baah (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME [MLS] (17 meetings): Red Bulls 9 wins, 28 goals … Union 5 wins, 22 goals … Ties 3 AT RED BULLS (8 meetings): Red Bulls 6 wins, 13 goals … Union 1 win, 6 goals … Ties 1
FUTURE MATCH: 10/16: New York Red Bulls vs. Columbus Crew SC, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN1)
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. C.J. Sapong and Chris Pontius scored a minute apart midway through the second half as Union overcame a pair of first-half goals from the Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan, leaving the teams in a 2-2 draw July 17 at Talen Energy Stadium.
- The teams met earlier this year in a U.S. Open Cup fifth-round match, Chris Pontius scoring a pair of goals to lead Union to a 2-1 win June 29 at Talen Energy Stadium. It was the third time the clubs have met in the Open Cup, Union advancing each of the last two seasons.
- Union won 2-0 last May 24 at Red Bull Arena, their first-ever win in Harrison; the Red Bulls had gone 5-0-1 in their first six home games vs. Philadelphia, and also won a U.S. Open Cup tie there. Last year’s Red Bulls win in Chester was their first there since the 2012 season.
- Coaches record: Jim Curtin vs. NYR: P6 W2 L2 D2 … Jesse Marsch vs. PHI: P6 W3 L2 D1
LAST MEETING (MLS)
7/17: PHI 2, NYR 2 (Sapong 67; Pontius 68 – Kljestan 27, 44)
- The Red Bulls took the lead in the 27th minute following a Union turnover, when Bradley Wright-Phillips slipped the ball to Sacha Kljestan and he finished from the left of the penalty area. Kljestan then made it 2-0 in the 44th minute, his free kick taking a deflection before settling in the back of the net.
- But Union leveled terms within a one-minute span midway through the second half. C.J. Sapong converted a penalty in the 67th minute after Red Bulls fullback Sal Zizzo was ruled to have knocked down Chris Pontius from behind. Then Fabian Herbers drove in a low cross from the right that Pontius turned home from close range for the equalizer.
- Union went down to 10 men in the 72nd minute after Ilsinho saw yellow for the second time following a high arm to the face of Red Bulls defender Connor Lade.
- PHILADELPHIA UNION (4-2-3-1): Andre Blake - Keegan Rosenberry, Ken Tribbett, Richard Marquez, Fabinho - Tranquillo Barnetta (Warren Creavalle 90), Brian Carroll - Ilsinho (ejected 72), Roland Alberg (Fabian Herbers 64), Chris Pontius (Sebastien Le Toux 82) - C.J. Sapong.
- NEW YORK RED BULLS (4-2-3-1): Luis Robles - Sal Zizzo (Chris Duvall 67), Damien Perrinelle, Aurelien Collin, Connor Lade - Felipe Martins, Dax McCarty - Alex Muyl (Gonzalo Veron 80), Sacha Kljestan, Mike Grella - Bradley Wright-Phillips (Ronald Zubar 83).
