CHESTER, Pa. – The Philadelphia Union’s success against the New England Revolution continued Saturday as Jack McInerney scored his second goal in as many games to lift Philly to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Revs at a cold and damp PPL Park.
With the win, the Union improve to 2-1-0 on the year and 5-0-3 all-time against the Revolution, who drop to 1-1-0 following their season-opening win in Chicago.
It took 75 minutes for the Union to break through – and for the second straight game, they did so on a Sebastien Le Toux set piece.
McInerney’s initial header of Le Toux’s corner kick was saved but he pounced on the rebound to score the game’s only goal. McInerney also scored on a Le Toux corner kick in the second half of Philly’s 2-1 win over Colorado last week.
New England nearly tied the score at 1-1 three minutes after McInerney’s goal but Juan Carlos Toja pushed a close-range shot just wide. A Revolution free kick in stoppage time was stopped by Philly’s wall as the Union held on for the victory.
COMPLETE BOXSCORE AND MATCH STATISTICS
The two teams combined for zero goals – and few scoring chances – in what was a sloppy first half.
New England had perhaps the best opportunity in the 35th minute but Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath made a big kick save on Revs striker Jerry Bengston.
One minute before that, the Union had their best first-half scoring chance when Michael Lahoud – who came on in the eighth minute after starting midfielder Danny Cruz took a shot to the head on a Lee Nguyen free kick – hit a shot from inside the box wide.
Check out the OPTA Chalkboard of the match
McInerney also nearly put the Union ahead before halftime but he couldn’t quite get his foot to flick on a long ball from Keon Daniel.
The Union are back at PPL Park next Saturday with a friendly against the Mexican side Pumas, before returning to league play with a trip to Red Bull Arena on March 30.
The Revs return home to host Sporting Kansas City next Saturday.
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
Rank |
Player |
What We Saw |
1 |
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/jack-mcinerney">Jack McInerney</a> (PHI)</span> |
Two winners in two weeks? McInerney follows through on his initial header to give the Union three points |
2 |
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/zac-macmath">Zac MacMath</a> (PHI)</span> |
The young keeper earns his first shutout of the season by taking care of the few chances sent his way |
3 |
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/lee-nguyen">Lee Nguyen</a> (NE)</span> |
It was a tough day for all of the Revs, but Nguyen provided the best creative spark for the visitors |
