Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From PhiladelphiaUnion.com
Montreal, Quebec – Philadelphia Union (1-3-5) fell to the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo Saturday afternoon in Montreal as a 14th minute goal from Felipe was enough to give the home side a 1-0 victory despite consistent offensive pressure from the Union.
“It’s frustrating because we only gave them a couple of opportunities in that first half and they capitalized on one of them,” said Union manager John Hackworth postgame. “And then we do a lot of good things but don’t capitalize in the most important moments of the game. Now we walk away frustrated and lose a game like that 1-0.”
The stat sheets again portray the Union holding edge in almost every metric. Shots, attempts at goal, passing accuracy, possession and more all in the Union’s favor dominantly conveyed in a second half in which the Union kept goalkeeper Troy Perkins on his toes. In all, Perkins was forced to make five saves on the day, with even more chances in and around his 18-yard-box.
“I hate to keep saying it, but it’s a process, you know?” said defender Amobi Okugo. “We are still trying to get the chemistry right and once those wins start to come and start building the confidence and the team chemistry, we are going to roll. It’s about sticking to the basics now and the coaches’ game plan and philosophy it’s going to start working. We have to clean up other aspects of our game, you know, and play pretty attractive soccer. This is MLS, it’s not La Liga or the Bundesliga or the EPL, every game is a battle in MLS and we need to be ready for that every game.”
The Union will hope to get back on the right foot in seven days’ time when they travel to Seattle for a meeting with the Sounders (10 p.m., The Comcast Network), who have been on a strong run in form. In addition, the Union would love a positive result as that match precedes a return to PPL Park to host rival D.C. United at PPL Park on May 10 (4 p.m.).
“We have to start a good run of form, we have to stop the bleeding,” said Union defender Amobi Okugo. “I feel like if we can turn it around and get a good result against Seattle it will give our team a ton of confidence.”
BOX SCORE
Montreal Impact 1, Philadelphia Union 0
Saturday, April 26; 4:00 p.m. ET
Stade Saputo
Montreal, Quebec
SCORING SUMMARY
MTL: Felipe 14’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
PHI: Edu 2’ (yellow)
MTL: Ouimette 16’ (red)
MTL: Camara 37’ (yellow)
MTL: Brovsky 40’ (yellow)
PHI: Gaddis 84’ (yellow)
UNION STARTING 11
MacMath, Gaddis, Okugo, Wheeler, Williams, (Casey 81’), Edu, Nogueira, Carroll, Fabinho (Hoppenot 61’) Wenger, Cruz (Maidana 66’).
IMPACT STARTING 11
Perkins, Brovsky, Ouimette, Ferrari, Camara, Bernier, Warner (Mallace 56’), Mapp, Felipe (Miller 89’), McInerney, Di Vaio (Tissot 78’).
