Mwanga helps Union salvage 1-1 draw with Galaxy

Danny Mwanga

By John McMullen

CHESTER, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - MLS' marquee team invaded PPL Park Wednesday night minus the league's biggest star and Philadelphia managed to earn a point thanks to the late-game heroics of Danny Mwanga.

Mwanga, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, scored in the 83rd minute as the Union (4-2-2, 14 points) scratched out a 1-1 draw with a David Beckham-less Los Angeles Galaxy club in front of a PPL Park record crowd of 19,178.

The former Oregon State star, who came on a substitution at halftime for Keon Daniel, took advantage of a giveaway to finally solve Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts for his first goal of the year.

The Union had plenty of chances to pull out an unlikely victory in the waning moments, the last of which was a beautiful set piece by Mwanga in stoppage time that Jack McInerney was unable to get too.

LA (4-2-5, 17 pts) dominated possession early and finally struck in the 24th minute. Juan Pablo Angel overstepped the ball in the box and it died behind him, leaving Landon Donovan alone. The veteran easily put it past a sprawling Faryd Mondragon for his 76th career goal and his fifth straight this season for the Galaxy dating back to April 23.

Donovan's marker seemed to wake up the Union for a bit and the club was able to buzz around Ricketts on more than one occasion before intermission but Philadelphia was never able to direct a shot on net, finishing with three overall at intermission.

As the Union offense continued to struggle generating chances, Mondragon kept them in it by turning back Chris Birchall with a brilliant diving save in the 63rd minute and making another sliding stop on Angel from close range in the 67th.

The Union finally put one of net when Roger Torres struck from distance in the 73rd minutes but Ricketts easily gobbled it up.

The Galaxy looked like they were on their way to a fourth straight win over Philadelphia until Mwanga turned the tables and kept the Union unbeaten at home on the season (3-0-2).

The Union, who rebounded from a 1-0 setback in Portland over the weekend, ended up generating 10 shots and four on goal. Mondragon, meanwhile, continued his stellar play, turning away three Galaxy shots.

Philly probably hasn't been around long enough to anoint anyone as a "Union- buster" but if Scott Walker forced me to pick someone, Beckham might be a good place to start.

Posh Spice's significant other has been a thorn in Philadelphia's  side in the past. In the last two meetings in the series before tonight, both 1-0 Galaxy wins, it was Beckham who set up both goals on free kicks.

Although the sellout crows likely wasn't happy about it, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena decided to leave Beckham in Los Angeles for the second leg of a three-game stretch over eight days. The Galaxy played the visiting New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 draw last Saturday and return home this Saturday to host
Sporting Kansas City.

Beckham, who is earning $6.5 million as MLS's highest-paid player this season, also was involved in a minor car accident last week but was healthy.

The Union will be back in action on this Saturday when they visit FC Dallas.


UNION DUES:

*Assistant coach John Hackworth guided the Union while team manager Peter Nowak competes in a charity soccer game in his native Poland.

*Besides Mwanga, the Union's other subs were Torres for Kyle Nakazawa in the 73rd minute and McInerney in the 80th minute for Jordan Harvey.

*MF Stefani Miglioranzi, who has started five games this season, sat out with a strained groin. Defenders Danny Califf (illness) and Harvey (red card suspension) were back in the starting lineup after missing the match in Portland.

*Sebastien Le Toux, who finished last season with 14 goals and 11 assists and set an MLS record for percentage involvement in his club's goals at 71.4 percent, has just one goal and one assist in eight games this year.

*The Union still haven't scored more than one goal in any game this season and all their shots on net tonight were generated by the subs. McInerney had two while Mwanga and Torres each had one.

*Tonight marked the two-year anniversary of the unveiling of the Union's logo and name.

*Edson Buddle, who was second in MLS with 17 goals in 2010 and torched the Union with three markers, is now over in Germany playing for Ingolstadt 04 in Second Bundesliga, the second-highest level of competition of soccer in the country.

Scoring Summary:

LA - Landon Donovan 5 (Unassisted) 24'

PHI - Danny Mwanga 1 (Unassisted) 84'

Misconduct Summary: 

LA -- Chris Birchall (caution; Reckless Foul) 30
PHI -- Brian Carroll (caution; Shirt Removal) 58
PHI -- Roger Torres (caution; Reckless Tackle) 76
LA -- Omar Gonzalez (caution; Delaying a Restart) 78
PHI -- Danny Mwanga (caution; Shirt Removal) 83
LA -- A.J. DeLaGarza (caution; Reckless Foul) 87
PHI -- Sheanon Williams (caution; Reckless Foul) 92+

LA Galaxy -- Donovan Ricketts, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Chris Birchall, Landon Donovan, Juninho, Michael Stephens (Mike Magee 87), Juan Pablo Angel (Chad Barrett 90), Miguel Lopez (Jovan Kirovski 82).

Substitutes Not Used:  Gregg Berhalter, Paolo Cardozo, Frankie Hejduk, Josh Saunders.

TOTAL SHOTS: 12; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 2

Philadelphia Union -- Faryd Mondragon, Sheanon Williams, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Jordan Harvey (Jack McInerney 80), Brian Carroll, Kyle Nakazawa (Roger Torres 66), Keon Daniel (Danny Mwanga 46), Justin Mapp, Sebastien Le Toux, Carlos Ruiz.

Substitutes Not Used: Gabriel Farfan, Michael Farfan, Amobi Okugo, Zac MacMath.

TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 12; OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 2

Referee: Andrew Chapin
Referee's Assistants: Greg Barkey; Matthew Kreitzer
4th Official: Jorge Gonzalez
 
Weather: Sunny and 73 degrees
 
Attendance: 19,178