Philadelphia Union 2, New York Red Bulls 2 | 2016 MLS Match Recap

Andrew Wiebe

The first half belonged to the Red Bulls. The second belonged to the Union.

In the end, Philadelphia (8-6-6, 30 pts) and New York (8-9-4, 28 pts) split the points in a back-and-forth 2-2 draw that marked their first regular-season meeting of the 2016 season.

Sacha Kljestan scored twice in the first half – the first a simple finish following a Union turnover and the second a deflected free kick – before C.J. Sapong and Chris Pontius evened the score in a two-minute span in the second half.

The 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 Connor Lade. That didn't seem to slow down the home team, who pushed for a winner and may have gotten it if not for the play of Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles.

The result, coupled with New York City FC's win in Montreal, saw Philadelphia hold steady in second place in the Eastern Conference while the Red Bulls stayed two points off the Union's pace and five behind their Big Apple rivals.

Box Score

27’ – NY – Sacha Kljestan (Bradley Wright-Phillips)
44’ – NY – Sacha Kljestan
67’ – PHI – C.J. Sapong (PK)
68' – PHI – Chris Pontius (Fabian Herbers)
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Three Things

PONTIUS HURTS RBNY AGAIN: Jesse Marsch blamed defensive unawareness, but there's no denying that Pontius has been a thorn in the Red Bulls' side recently. On June 29, Pontius scored twice in US Open Cup play to eliminate New York from the competition.
KLJESTAN CELEBRATES ALL-STAR NOD: An hour after it was announced he was a member of the 26-man AT&T MLS All-Star gameday roster, Sacha Kljestan scored twice in a banner first half for New York. After scoring eight goals and adding 14 assists in 2015, Kljestan now has four goals and 10 assists this season.
ATTABOY ROOK: Among a banner class, Keegan Rosenberry is the only rookie to play every single minute of his team's game in 2016. Rosenberry has started 20 of 20 games for the Union, logging 1800 minutes while scoring one goal and committing only seven fouls.