It wasn’t pretty for the Philadelphia Union, who held on for three points against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night with goals from Kacper Przybylko and Cory Burke, as the Union continued its push for the 2020 Supporters’ Shield.
Chicago were hit by two rough calls in the first half: a penalty kick for a handball on Francisco Calvo in the 26th minute, and then a red card to Calvo just10 minutes later.
Union leading goal-scorer Kacper Przybylko converted the penalty for the handball, netting his eighth goal of the year, tied for 4th best in the league with eight other players.
Chicago certainly matched Philadelphia when both teams had 11 men, and gave the Union just as much trouble with just 10.
Just four minutes before half time, Robert Beric equalized with his 10th goal of the season, tied with third most in MLS.
Philadelphia struck back in the second half when substitute Cory Burke latched onto fellow-substitute Olivier Mbaizo’s cross as the Union took the lead once again.
Union fans won’t be content with the performance, and will be even more disappointed when goalkeeper Andre Blake came off with an apparent hand injury in the 89th minute.
Veteran Joe Bendik looked shaky for the last few minutes, and in stoppage time, substitute Andrew Wooten bailed out the back-up goalkeeper with a goal line clearance after a set piece for the Fire.
Impressively, Chicago matched Philadelphia for the 64 minutes when the game was 11 versus 10. The Union out-shot the Fire narrowly by 14 to 12, and out-possessed the Fire by just 53 to 47 percent.
With this result, the Union now control sole control of first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings after Toronto FC loss to NYCFC. The Union end the season at the Columbus Crew and vs. the New England Revolution.
The Chicago Fire sit just outside the final playoff spot in 11th place, two points behind the Montreal Impact and three points behind Inter Miami after the Heron’s victory over FC Dallas on Wednesday night.
The Fire visit fellow-playoff hopefulls, Nashville SC, travel out-of-conference to Minnesota United and host NYCFC in a last ditch push to reach the playoffs.
Philadelphia Union
