Union survive against Chivas

CARSON, Calif. (The Phanatic Magazine) — The Philadelphia Union (2-3-1) held on for a second consecutive victory despite two second-half red cards, edging Chivas USA (3-4-1) 1-0 at The Home Depot Center on Saturday.

Freddy Adu's 40th minute goal proved to be the difference as goalkeeper Zac MacMath and Philadelphia's defense extended their shutout streak to 332 minutes

Following an opening 40 minutes that offered few scoring opportunities, the Union opened their account after a series of dribbling moves by midfielder Michael Farfan led to a cross into the middle. After the service deflected off of Chivas defender James Riley, Adu opportunistically back-heeled the ball into the side netting for a 1-0 Philadelphia advantage

Chivas nearly leveled two minutes later when midfielder Nick LaBrocca launched a shot from nearly 20 yards that forced a save from MacMath.

The second half was a physical affair, with both Keon Daniel and Gabriel Farfan receiving red cards in the 75th and 85th minutes, respectively. Daniel received a straight red for a studs-up challenge on the Goats’ Ryan Smith, while Farfan was red-carded after a hard tackle on Riley. Farfan’s challenge led to a scuffle between both teams, which saw Union manager Peter Nowak ejected after entering the field of play.

Earlier in the match, Chivas USA brought on Juan Pablo Ángel in the 63rd minute to try to break through. The Colombian, who missed five matches with concussion symptoms, came on for Paolo Cardozo, who made his Chivas USA debut after recently being acquired in a trade with the LA Galaxy

Ángel, who was making his second appearance this season, made an immediate impact creating two scoring opportunities in his first five minutes of action. The best one came from a cross by Miller Bolanos that found Angel with space in the area, but his header drifted wide.

Despite playing with nine men to finish the game, the Union held on for all three points, the club's first winning streak since May 28, 2011. Philadelphia's current unbeaten streak of three will be tested when the club returns to action next Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes at PPL Park.