Fabian’s strike pushes Union past Fire with a 2-0 win
Fabian and Fontana both score as Philadelphia hand Chicago their 10th loss
Looking to bounce back from last week’s 4-0 thumping against Real Salt Lake, the Philadelphia Union met the Chicago Fire in a battle of Eastern Conference foes. The month of July had not been kind to Chicago Fire, who looked to put a valiant effort against the Eastern Conference leaders after their disappointing 2-2 tie against Columbus last Wednesday.
The Union opened up the score at the 11th minute with a set-piece play that finished with a beautiful right-footed strike by Marco Fabian from outside the box. The goal marked the fourth of the MLS season by the Mexican international. The set-piece play was a result of a reckless tackle by Djordje Mihailovic on the left-wing on Brenden Aaronson.
Water breaks had to pause the game as the temperature in Chester, Pennsylvania reached past 90 degrees during the game. The players seemed to struggle with the weather as it may have been a significant factor in the 42nd-minute early substitution of Jorge Corrales for Grant Lillard.
The first half at Talen Energy Stadium was pretty evenly matched aside from Fabian’s strike. The ball possession favored the team from Philly with both sides creating five shots on goal. Chicago was unable to culminate their chances on goal with Brandt Bronico and Bastian Schweinsteiger coming the closest with stikes in the box.
The second half began with the Fire looking like the better side for the first 10 minutes of the half. Philadelphia countered around the 56-minute mark with a barrage of dangerous on goal shots that resulted in another corner kick play for Fabian reminiscent of his first-half strike. Fabian’s night came to an early end around the hour mark as Anthony Fontana entered the game to replace him.
The build-up play of the Chicago Fire improved during the beginning stages of the second half as the team moved the ball around with more precision and composure. It looked like they would be able to create some fundamental changes. Unfortunately, a dagger came at the 64th minute from the substitute Fontana as he tapped in a rebound for a goal by the back post. The goal came after a great run by Kai Wagner on the left side of the field which saw him trip in the box while chasing the ball, get up and place a pass for the trailing Fontana.
A couple of dangerous chances at the end of the game by Chicago, including a strike that sailed over Union goalkeeper Andre Blake and hit the top post, concluded what was an otherwise forgettable night for the Chicago Fire players. It may have been the fact Chicago Fire had played a mid-week game and did not have much gas, or that a couple of their starting eleven players were out injured, but the Chicago Fire looked like a team in desperate need of a jolt to dig themselves out of the basement of the Eastern Conference standings.
Chicago’s next two games will be at home. One will take place in the newly minted Leagues Cup against Liga MX’s Cruz Azul on Wednesday, July 23rd and the other a fixture against the Wayne Rooney led D.C. United on Saturday, July 27th.
With their 11th win of the season, the Philadelphia Union have now created some distance between themselves and the 2nd place D.C. United. Their next matchup will be north of the border as they will be visiting the Montreal Impact on Saturday, July 27th. Philadelphia will look to capitalize on the momentum they have cultivated after tonight’s win and continue their place atop the Eastern Conference.
