PHILADELPHIA UNION vs NEW YORK RED BULLS
PPL PARK, Chester, Pa.
Sept. 13, 2014 (WEEK 27, MLS Game #257)
3 p.m. ET (NBCSN; TSN2)

Philadelphia Union and the New York Red Bulls meet for the third time this season in a crucial match for both clubs in the Eastern Conference when they face off Saturday afternoon at PPL Park before an NBC Sports Network audience. The teams come into the game both holding a place in the top five in the division and a playoff position, the Red Bulls a point ahead in the table. Union have won three in a row after their 2-0 win at Toronto FC last weekend, while the Red Bulls are coming off back-to-back home wins, last a 1-0 win against D.C. United at midweek.

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REFEREE: Allen Chapman. AR1 (bench): James Conlee; AR2 (opposite): Matthew Nelson; 4th: Hilario Grajeda
MLS Career: 46 games; FC/gm: 22.4; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 12; pens: 14

SUSPENDED:
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: PHI: Maurice Edu … NY: Armando, Jamison Olave, Ibrahim Sekagya
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: PHI: Fabinho, Raymon Gaddis … NY: Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: NY: Roy Miller (Costa Rica, Copa Centroamericana); Ambroise Oyongo (Cameroon)

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (12 meetings): Union 4 wins, 14 goals … Red Bulls 7 wins, 17 goals … Ties 1
AT PHILADELPHIA (6 meetings): Union 4 wins, 11 goals … Red Bulls 2 wins, 8 goals … Ties 0

2014 (MLS):
4/19: NY 2, PHI 1 (Henry 57; Sam 67 – Le Toux 80)
7/16: PHI 3, NY 1 (Casey 9; Fred 51; Le Toux 69 – Wright-Phillips 60)

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Conor Casey, Fred and Sebastien Le Toux all scored to lead Union to a 3-1 victory July 16 at PPL Park; Thierry Henry and Lloyd Sam scored goals 10 minutes apart midway through the second half to lead the Red Bulls to a 2-1 win, April 16 at Red Bull Arena.
• Union have won their last two home games vs. the Red Bulls, after losing the previous two. The Red Bulls are 5-0-1 in home games vs. Philadelphia, having outscored Union 9-3, and also won a U.S. Open Cup game there in 2010.
• Coaches record: Jim Curtin vs. NY: P1 W1 L0 D0… Mike Petke vs. PHI: P5 W2 L2 D1

LAST MEETING

• Union opened the scoring in the ninth minute. After spraying a pass out wide to Andrew Wenger, Conor Casey received a perfect cross in return in the area and beat goalkeeper Luis Robles to his left.
• Union doubled the lead in the 51st minute. This time Casey played provider, getting a nice little touch on the ball to redirect a Sheanon Williams cross to allow Fred to pounce and drive home a low shot from the center of the box.
• The Red Bulls pulled a goal back nine minutes later when Thierry Henry made a simple pass across the edge of the box for Bradley Wright-Phillips, who was given too much space and calmly finished past Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
• But Union restored the margin after Maurice Edu was dragged down in the box by Eric Alexander on a corner kick, and referee Baldomero Toledo whistled for the 68th-minute penalty. Le Toux then converted the spot kick.
• PHILADELPHIA UNION (4-2-3-1): Zac MacMath - Sheanon Williams, Ethan White, Maurice Edu, Raymon Gaddis - Brian Carroll, Vincent Nogueira - Sebastien Le Toux, Cristian Maidana (Fred 38), Andrew Wenger (Danny Cruz 74) - Conor Casey (Aaron Wheeler 84).
• NEW YORK RED BULLS (4-4-2): Luis Robles - Chris Duvall (Connor Lade 89), Jamison Olave, Matt Miazga, Ambroise Oyongo - Lloyd Sam, Dax McCarty (Bobby Convey 87), Tim Cahill, Eric Alexander (Andre Akpan 80) - Bradley Wright-Phillips, Thierry Henry.

PHILADELPHIA UNION
Philadelphia Union won their third consecutive match with a second victory against Toronto FC in four days’ time, this time a 2-0 triumph on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field. Union are in a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 36 points from 27 games.

LAST MATCH

• Union had the lead after just eight minutes. After TFC failed to clear their lines on two separate occasions, the ball fell kindly to the foot of Philadelphia's Sheanon Williams out wide on the right. He swung the ball into the box where Conor Casey headed it past goalkeeper Joe Bendik for the opener.
• Just one minute before the halftime whistle, the visitors doubled the lead. The ball bounced off the head of three different Union forwards before finally being directed at goal by Andrew Wenger, who beat Bendik again with a free header in the box for the final margin of victory.
• Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath was credited with three saves for the clean sheet, his cause certainly helped by three shots that came back off the woodwork the second half.
• Union interim manager Jim Curtin made one change to the team that defeated Toronto FC 1-0 at PPL Park. Vincent Nogueira came into the team in place of Brian Carroll.
• PHILADELPHIA UNION (4-2-3-1): Zac MacMath - Sheanon Williams, Ethan White, Maurice Edu, Raymon Gaddis - Vincent Nogueira, Amobi Okugo - Sebastien Le Toux (Danny Cruz 81), Cristian Maidana (Brian Carroll 89), Andrew Wenger - Conor Casey (Pedro Ribeiro 69).

TEAM NEWS

• Union won for a third consecutive league game, and for the fourth time in their last five in MLS. They had four wins total in their previous 20 league encounters.
• “We have three guys away with international duty as well, but we played very good [against TFC],” said Union interim manager Jim Curtin. “I actually thought today we were better than on Wednesday to be honest.  I’m happy with the guys’ performance.”
• Said Andrew Wenger: “I think we were just a little bit more clinical in the box.  We probably created just as many chances and defensively we frustrated them a little bit.  We sat back and tried to take away their passing lanes.”
• Union defender Sheanon Williams had two assists in a game for the second time in his MLS career, setting up both goals. Williams has three assists to go with a single-season career-high three goals.
• Wenger scored his sixth goal of the season, his third in the last three games, all since moving to a wide left-sided midfield role.
• “It’s different out there on the wing than it is being the high guy in the spot where Conor [Casey] has been,” Curtin said. “You don’t have someone on your back all the time. He’s able to get the ball now, focus on just beating one man and going in. He’s really embraced that role. When he gets a head of steam running at you, he’s as dangerous as anyone in our league.”
• Said Wenger: “I’ve said I felt comfortable in a lot of positions before, and it hasn’t worked out or the coach has seen something differently. I feel comfortable there until they tell me to play somewhere else.”
• Conor Casey scored for a second consecutive game, making a third consecutive start as the lone out-and-out striker in the Union scheme.
• “We’ve had a good run of results and we’ve also been playing well.  Sometimes you play well but don’t get the results but we’ve had both,” Casey said. “Every guy on our roster right now is pulling in the right direction and we just want to keep improving and getting points.”
• Following a one-game absence because of injury, Vincent Nogueira returned to the Union midfield, coming in alongside Amobi Okugo with Maurice Edu starting a second consecutive game in central defense.
• Making a second consecutive start after being dropped the previous two matches, Zac MacMath recorded a second consecutive start between the posts, his fifth shutout this season.
• “We came in feeling good this week knowing that we wanted to win at home. We took care of business there.  When you have the defense playing as well as they are, with two shutouts it gives the team a lot of confidence,” Casey said.

NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls secured a fourth consecutive victory at Red Bull Arena in dramatic fashion, scoring a late winner for a 1-0 victory against D.C. United on Wednesday evening. The Red Bulls are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 37 points from 27 matches on the season.

LAST MATCH

• United were a man down in the 32nd minute after Fabian Espindola was sent off with a straight red card from referee Mark Geiger for a high challenge on Dax McCarty.
• The game-winner finally came on the stroke of full time. From a loose ball around the United box, a Jamison Olave pass deflected off Thierry Henry and fell to Lloyd Sam on the right side of the area, and he pushed the ball forward and slipped it inside the near post past goalkeeper Bill Hamid.
• Red Bulls boss Mike Petke made no changes to the team that defeated Sporting Kansas City 2-1 at Red Bull Arena.
• NEW YORK RED BULLS (4-2-3-1): Luis Robles - Chris Duvall, Jamison Olave, Ibrahim Sekagya, Roy Miller - Dax McCarty, Eric Alexander (Tim Cahill 71) - Lloyd Sam, Peguy Luyindula, Thierry Henry (Ruben Bover 90) - Bradley Wright-Phillips (Saer Sene 46).

TEAM NEWS

• The Red Bulls won their fourth consecutive home game and extended their undefeated streak at Red Bull Arena to seven matches in the win against D.C. United. The Red Bulls have lost back-to-back road games and haven’t won on the road since June 8, a span of five games.
• “It’s the money time in the season,” said midfielder Lloyd Sam. “It feels great to get back-to-back wins, and obviously we’re going to Philly this weekend. It doesn’t get any easier - that’s always a tough game over there – but we owe them one, too, from the last time.”
• Sam scored his third goal of the season, his first since July 12. Sam has a goal and an assist in his last two games, both home victories.
• “He’s been one of our most steady performers all year. Lately, over the last month or so, we’ve asked him to do things a little bit differently here and there, tuck in a little bit more, but at the end of the day he always has free rein to go wide because that’s his strongest position and you could see that he tears players up on his right foot,” said Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke.
• The Red Bulls maintained their tactical scheme with Peguy Luyindula playing as the underneath striker and Thierry Henry wide on the left. Dax McCarty and Eric Alexander filled a deep-lying central midfield pair.
• “I’m sure everybody seems to have saw a certain lineup but that’s not how – that wasn’t our game plan, let’s put it that way. We just put players in positions, starting points, and it could look like a 4-2-3-1, could look like a 4-5-1, whatever you want to say it, but at the end of the day they’re starting positions and from there they have to seek the ball and find different things so I’m not sticking to a certain thing or saying or playing a certain way,” Petke said. “I put the guys out on the field that I feel could get us a result, put them in certain starting points and then we go from there and we have two wins in a row.”
• Bradley Wright-Phillips again started as the lone out-and-out striker, but he was forced off at halftime with a hamstring ailment. Saer Sene made his fourth consecutive substitute appearance since coming to the club from the New England Revolution, the 45-minute shift his longest with the Red Bulls.
• “He said he felt something, it wasn’t pulled or anything, he just felt strange down there in his hamstring. We pulled him off so he doesn’t pull it,” said Petke. “Hopefully we got him off in time. And yeah, these guys are tired.”
• There will be a lineup change in the back four as Roy Miller has been called in by the Costa Rican national team for the final round of the Copa Centroamericana.
• Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles was credited with the shutout, the club’s fourth shutout of the season and its first since June 8. It was the first shutout in a home match since April 23.
• “To me the best thing that happened tonight was the clean sheet,” said Dax McCarty. “Being a midfielder and being a guy that takes pride in helping our defense out, I haven’t been very happy with us defensively. We just seem to concede the softest goals every game and it’s really frustrating.”
• Said goalkeeper Luis Robles: “It shows some resilience. Obviously, this season has been a roller coaster of a ride and there’s been moments where we would be winning and we give up a late goal or something of that nature. To have it work out for us, it’s not only a good feeling but it’s very satisfying. Now, we have a little momentum and we have to make sure we capitalize on it.”