Monday, July 09, 2012

Union blank Toronto 3-0

Chester, Pa. (July 8, 2012)– The Philadelphia Union defeated Toronto FC, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at PPL Park.

Gabriel Gomez and Freddy Adu scored just two minutes apart in the first half, and second-half substitute Antoine Hoppenot added a late insurance goal to give the Union their second consecutive victory. Zac MacMath logged his fifth shutout of the 2012 season.

The Union dominated the first-half, out-possessing Toronto by a margin of 71% to 29 %. But the Reds—who entered today’s game unbeaten in their last five contests—kept the surging Philadelphia offense off the scoreboard for the first half-hour.

Despite missing several early opportunities, the Union continued to press and were finally rewarded for their efforts when Gomez slotted a Jack McInerney cross past Toronto goalkeeper Milos Kocic to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

Minutes later, the Union beat the Toronto backline again to go up by two goals. Gabriel Farfan played Freddy Adu in behind the defense, and Adu—who impressed with his footwork throughout the game—blasted a shot into the back of the net.

The Union added a late insurance goal when Michael Farfan sprung supersub Antoine Hoppenot into the clear. The speedy striker powered a shot over the keeper, netting his third goal in all competition for the Union.

Philadelphia improve to 5-9-2 on the season with 17 points, one point back of Montreal before the Impact’s night game against Columbus. Toronto drop to 2-11-4 on the season and remain in last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Union return to action on Wednesday, July 11 when they take on Sporting Kansas City in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at 7:30 p.m. at PPL Park.

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