The Philadelphia Union held off a late charge by the New England Revolution, coming away with a 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium on Monday night.
The Revs held the balance of the possession through the opening half-hour of the match but were unable to seriously challenge Union keeper Andre Blake, until DeJuan Jones' 19th-minute shot from beyond the box deflected off a Union defender but into the arms of the Jamaican international. Philly, meanwhile, had a great chance go begging in the 9th minute as Brenden Aaronson found himself in space inside the penalty area, but the Red Bull Salzburg-bound youngster's shot was not nearly enough to challenge the Revs' Matt Turner.
Past the half-hour mark, though, the Union were involved in a flurry of activity in the final third, eventually getting on the board in the 34th via an own goal as Kai Wagner's cross was pushed past Turner off of the foot of Andrew Farrell. Right before the half, though, the Revs had a late flurry of their own that ultimately came to nothing, with Teal Bunbury's blocked shot in the box yielding a shout for a handball that went unheard.
The early portions of the second half featured New England continuing to push for the equalizer but unable to find the breakthrough. Their closest chance came in the 65th, as Bunbury's header on frame was brilliantly knocked away by a diving Blake to keep Philly up 1-0. The Revs would rue that missed opportunity as in the 69th, Anthony Fontana lobbed his attempt over Turner and into the back of the net to make it a 2-0 lead.
Then, in the 81st minute, an absolute bullet from Tajon Buchanan sailed into the far post to make it 2-1. Moments later, Buchanan appeared to level the match, but it was ruled offside. Another close call came as the Revs were awarded a free kick just outside the box, but Blake made a tremendous save to thwart Lee Nguyen's effort. Nguyen had another great chance in stoppage time, but his shot inside the box sailed over the bar.
Goals
- 34' - PHI - Andrew Farrell (OG) | WATCH
- 69' - PHI - Anthony Fontana | WATCH
- 81' - NE - Tajon Buchanan | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: They had to dig deep at the end, but the win virtually assured the Union of a top-four finish in the East and a home playoff game, creating a 10-point gap between them and the fifth-placed Revs with four games left to play for both teams and pulling them within three points of Toronto FC for the best record in the league. New England will be disappointed not to even get a point at home, but their playoff hopes are in no danger — it will take something special to get a top four finish at this point, though.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It's a completely different match without this stop by Andre Blake. With the Revs looking for an equalizer on a free kick just outside the area, he sailed to his left to deny Lee Nguyen's attempt as the Union would end up seeing things out.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Enough can't be said about the performance by Blake, who made 2 decisive stops down the stretch to ensure the Union were leaving from Massachusetts with the victory. Philly's keeper was credited with 7 total saves on the evening.
Next Up
- NE: Friday, October 23 at Nashville SC (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
- PHI: Saturday, October 24 vs. Toronto FC (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+; TSN 1/4 in Canada)
