CHESTER, Pa. – The Philadelphia Union gave up their undefeated record at home on Saturday afternoon as the San Jose Earthquakes came to town and took a late 2-1 result from the disappointed home side.
Second-half sub Arturo Alvarez got the winner in the first minute of extra time, souring the first match of the a four-game home stand for Philadelphia and snapping a five-game winless streak for San Jose.
The Quakes attacker hit the Union on a late break with an end-to-end effort, finally beating Union defender Jordan Harvey on a one-on-one and blasting a left footed shot past diving Union goalkeeper Chris Seitz.
An early goal by Fred saw the home side take the lead at PPL Park, but the Earthquakes managed to take all three points back to the west coast thanks to Cornell Glen’s equalizing goal just before halftime and Alvarez’s effort to seal the win.
Philadelphia had the lion’s share of the possession in the early stages of the match and also threatened late, but couldn’t solve Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch when it counted.
The first goal of the match came as a result of the constant pressure from Philadelphia and was helped by a bit of poor San Jose defending.
A lofted ball was helped on by the head of Danny Mwanga, who played it perfectly into the line of Fred, who pushed it forward along the right side of Busch’s penalty box. His strong touches were rewarded as the Brazilian was able to slip the ball by Busch in the 14th minute to give the home side the lead.
Barely two minutes later the Union had another golden chance that could have extended their lead, but they were thwarted by the post. Pushing the ball in low from the corner, Fred perfectly set up Andrew Jacobsen, who cracked a shot off the post.
The latter stages of the first half were cleanly won by the Earthquakes, who had multiple chances. In the 42nd minute, Joey Gjertsen worked the ball inside from his left wing position and put a shot on net that rifled off the Union’s crossbar.
Glen’s goal came in the first minute of stoppage time before the break, thanks to a nifty lead pass from Jason Hernandez. Chris Wondolowski slid the ball across the box to Glen, who eased the finish past Seitz.
Danny Mwanga had a golden opportunity in the 72nd minute, but Busch denied his breakaway chance. Shea Salinas was turned away by Busch just minutes later before Alvarez finished the Union off in stoppage time.
Philadelphia fell for the first time in four matches at home this season, and for the first time at PPL Park.
Scoring Summary:
PHI -- Fred 2 (Danny Mwanga 2) 14
SJ -- Cornell Glen 1 (Chris Wondolowski 1) 45
SJ -- Arturo Alvarez 3 (Bobby Convey 8) 90
Misconduct Summary:
PHI -- Fred (caution; Reckless Foul) 52
SJ -- Chris Wondolowski (caution; Reckless Foul) 69
SJ -- Ramiro Corrales (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 93+
San Jose Earthquakes -- Jon Busch, Jason Hernandez, Bobby Burling, Ike Opara, Ramiro Corrales, Sam Cronin, Brandon McDonald (Brad Ring 88), Joey Gjertsen, Bobby Convey, Cornell Glen (Ryan Johnson 67), Chris Wondolowski (Arturo Alvarez 74).
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Leitch, Javier Robles, Omar Jasseh, Joe Cannon.
Philadelphia Union -- Chris Seitz, Michael Orozco Fiscal, Danny Califf, Jordan Harvey, Cristian Arrieta, Fred (Jack McInerney 81), Stefani Miglioranzi, Sebastien Le Toux, Andrew Jacobson (Shea Salinas 64), Alejandro Moreno (Roger Torres 55), Danny Mwanga.
Substitutes Not Used: Nick Zimmerman, Amobi Okugo, Toni Stahl, Brad Knighton.
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
Referee's Assistants: Brian Poeschel; Craig Lowry
4th Official: David Gantar
Attendance: 17,158
Time of Game: 1:51
