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| Union MF Roger Torres |
Chester, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - Moments after entering the game Roger Torres notched his first career MLS goal in the 68th minute as Philadelphia topped Red Bull New York, 1-0, in front of a record crowd of 19,029 at PPL Park.
Red Bulls defender Tim Ream turned the ball over seconds before Torres' marker, resulting in a 2-on-1 for the Union. Danny Mwanga, who came in a substitute for Justin Mapp in the 59th minute, was the recipient of Ream's ugly miscue and after a few dribbles, the second-year striker gave it up to a wide-open Torres, who had come on less than a minute earlier for Carlos Ruiz. The 19-year-old Columbian, who had six assists last year, easily deposited the ball behind New York goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul.
Replays showed Torres was offsides but referee Alex Prus missed it as the Union netted just its third goal in four MLS games this season but improved to 3-1-0 with nine points, topping the Eastern Table.
A powerful New York team featuring former English Premier League and French International star Thierry Henry as well as five-time MLS Best XI midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who was acquired on April 1 from Toronto FC, lost its first match of the season and fell to 1-1-2.
The Red Bulls pressed things in the first half, outshooting the Union 5-3 thanks in large part to five corner kicks. New York's best opportunities came from rising star Juan Agudelo. In the 31st minute Agudelo raced passed Danny Califf and had Faryd Mondragon beaten but his laser carmoed off the crossbar. About 10 minutes earlier he had hit the post.
Ruiz almost surprised Coundoul a bit earlier in the half when his shot from 50 yards out sailed over the netminder's head and nearly before landing on top of the goal.
The 39-year-old Mondragon, who finished with just one save, wasn't really tested down the stretch and notched his third clean sheet in four games. The Union had just two shutouts in all of 2010.
UNION DUES:
*Second-year striker Jack McInerney wasn't available for team manger Peter Nowak after picking up a red card in stoppage time last weekend against the LA Galaxy while rookie MF Gabe Farfan missed the game with a little toe sublax on his right foot.
*Mapp returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games with a strained left hamstring.
*The Union's other substitution was Amobi Okugo for Brian Carroll in the sixth minute. Carroll had to sit after straining a hamstring.
*The Union and Red Bulls split a pair of games in Philadelphia's inaugural season. New York also dumped the Union out of last year's U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 win.
*Philadelphia was also eliminated from this year's U.S. Open Cup, falling 4-2 in penalty kicks to DC United earlier this week.
*Trinidad and Tobago international MF Keon Daniel, who made his MLS debut in the second half against the Galaxy in place of Mwanga, made his first start tonight.
*Okugo and rookie GK Zac MacMath were both back and available after toiling with the U.S. National Team's U-20 squad in Guatemala.
*The first Philadelphia Union Reserve Division match will be held at Chester field in Wallingford, PA on Sunday at 10 a.m. The Union reserves will be playing the Red Bulls reserves.
*New York was without defender Chris Albright, who is still missing because of offseason knee surgery. Albright attended William Penn Charter School.
-INSIDE THE UNION
Sooner or later Nowak is going to learn a little something from former Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt.
Schmidt, of course, came up with the famous one liner: "Philadelphia is the only city, where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day."
Last year in the team's inaugural season Nowak cobbled together a team built on pressure, a club not afraid to push another player forward in order to press the action. The result was a fun team to watch that by-and-large controlled the tempo but more often than not came up on the short end of the stick thanks to a back end prone to one or two unforced errors every game.
In year 2, Nowak went back to the drawing board and came up with a far more conservative approach, with two defensive midfielders back at virtually all times in front of a veteran goalkeeper in Mondragon.
The Union opened up with two straight shutouts, matching their entire total of 2010 before Mondragon gave up his first marker against the powerful LA Galaxy last week in a 1-0 loss. In fact, Philadelphia played 213 consecutive minutes of scoreless soccer to start the season until Leonardo bested Mondragon in the
33rd minute.
Needless to day, the Union were the last MLS team to surrender a goal in 2011, a stark contrast from last season's defensively challenged bunch.
However, last week against Los Angeles the Union did not force Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts -- making his 2011 season debut -- to make a single save. In fact, Philadelphia managed just four attempts on goal during a 1-0 setback and none until the 50th minute.
Tonight Philadelphia and Mondragon finished with another clean sheet but generated few real scoring chances and last year's offensive stars, Sebastien Le Toux and Mwanga, are both still looking for their first markers.
Philadelphia soccer fans have certainly enjoyed the early wins but they also want a little more offense.
It's a tough town Peter.
Scoring Summary:
PHI -- Roger Torres 1 (Danny Mwanga 1) 68
New York Red Bulls -- Bouna Coundoul, Jan Gunnar Solli, Tim Ream, Rafael Marquez, Roy Miller, Dane Richards (Luke Rodgers 67), Teemu Tainio, Dwayne De Rosario, Joel Lindpere, Juan Agudelo (Mehdi Ballouchy 84), Thierry Henry.
Substitutes Not Used: Stephen Keel, Tyler Lassiter, Carl Robinson, John Rooney, Alex Horwath.
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Juan Agudelo 2, Dwayne De Rosario 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Dwayne De Rosario 1); FOULS: 8 (Thierry Henry 3); OFFSIDES: 2 (Juan Agudelo 2); CORNER KICKS: 6 (Rafael Marquez 6); SAVES: 2 (Bouna Coundoul 2)
Philadelphia Union -- Faryd Mondragon, Sheanon Williams, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Jordan Harvey, Stefani Miglioranzi, Brian Carroll (Amobi Okugo 6), Keon Daniel, Justin Mapp (Danny Mwanga 59), Carlos Ruiz (Roger Torres 67), Sebastien Le Toux.
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Agorsor, Michael Farfan, Juan Diego Gonzalez, Zac MacMath.
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Sebastien Le Toux 2, Carlos Ruiz 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (3 tied with 1); FOULS: 8 (Stefani Miglioranzi 3, Sheanon Williams 3); OFFSIDES: 2 (Danny Mwanga 1, Carlos Ruiz 1); CORNER KICKS: 1 (Justin Mapp 1); SAVES: 1 (Faryd Mondragon 1)
Misconduct Summary:
NY -- Rafael Marquez (caution; Dissent) 14
NY -- Dane Richards (caution; Reckless Tackle) 29
PHI -- Danny Mwanga (caution; Reckless Tackle) 77
NY -- Roy Miller (caution; Reckless Tackle) 82
Referee: Alex Prus
Referee's Assistants: Rob Fereday; Corey Parker
4th Official: Mark Kadlecik
Attendance: 19,027
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Cloudy-and-62-degrees
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