Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Union
CHESTER, Pa – Philadelphia Union and Montreal Impact drew 1-1 on a rainy Saturday evening at Stade Saputo. In front of a sold out crowd of 20,801, the Union weathered the storm, in terms of the elements and an early Impact goal, to pick up a vital point in a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference heading into play on Saturday. C.J. Sapong scored his fifth goal of the season and Andre Blake made five saves.
Didier Drogba opened the scoring just three minutes into the game. He capitalized on a missed clearance and brilliantly drilled the ball into the top left corner of Blake’s goal. More pressure from the Impact ensued, forcing a pair of Blake saves before the Union were able to turn the tide.
They soon equalized in the 24th minute on a pure team goal that was finished by Sapong. Tranquillo Barnetta started the counterattack and fed Chris Pontius down the left wing. Pontius then one-touched a cross-field pass to Sebastien Le Toux, who calmly played the ball down to Sapong. Wide open inside the six-yard box, Sapong promptly slotted it home.
It was a back-and-forth affair from there out. Blake stopped Drogba twice on a pair of re-starts before halftime. In the 31st minute, he stopped a rapidly bending free kick from the right corner of the 18-yard box. Just a few minutes later in the 39th minute, he denied Drogba from a powerful header off a cross from a quick throw-in.
The game went scoreless in the second half with each team having a decent scoring opportunity. For the Union, Fabian Herbers had a chance in the 77th minute, but just ran out of real estate before really having an opportunity to test Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush.
The Union will return to action on Friday, May 20 at Talen Energy Stadium against D.C. United. Kick is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on UniMas. Single game and group tickets are still available by visiting PhiladelphiaUnion.com/tickets or by calling 1-877-21-UNION.
MATCH RECAP
Philadelphia Union 1, Montreal Impact 1
Stade Saputo
Montreal, Quebec
FINAL MATCH STATS
Shots: 17-15 Impact
Shots on Target: 6-5 Impact
Possession: 52-48 Union
Passing Accuracy: 79-78 Union
Fouls: 15-14 Impact
Corners: 6-6
POST-MATCH AUDIO
Head coach Jim Curtin
Midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta
Goalkeeper Andre Blake
Defender Richie Marquez
SCORING SUMMARY
MON – Didier Drogba 3’ WATCH
PHI – C.J. Sapong (Sebastien Le Toux, Chris Pontius) 24’ WATCH
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
MON – Ignacio Piatti (yellow) 36’
MON – Marco Donadel (yellow) 50’
MON – Ambroise Oyongo (yellow) 80’
PHI – Ray Gaddis (yellow) 81’
PHILADELPHIA UNION STARTING XI
Andre Blake; Ray Gaddis, Richie Marquez, Josh Yaro, Keegan Rosenberry; Warren Creavalle, Vincent Nogueira (Brian Carroll 74’); Chris Pontius (Fabian Herbers 66’), Tranquillo Barnetta © (Roland Alberg 85’), Sebastien Le Toux; C.J. Sapong.
Substitutes not used: John McCarthy, Fabinho, Ken Tribbett, Walter Restrepo.
MONTREAL IMPACT STARTING XI
Evan Bush; Maxim Tissot, Laurent Ciman, Victor Cabrera, Ambroise Oyongo; Patrice Bernier (Lucas Ontivero 73’), Marco Donadel; Ignacio Piatti, Harry Shipp (Kyle Bekker 56’), Dominic Oduro; Didier Drogba (Johan Venegas 70’).
Substitutes not used: Eric Kronberg, Hassoun Camara, Wandrille Lefevre, Michael Salazar.
OFFICIALS
Drew Fischer (referee), Corey Parker (assistant), Gianni Facchini (assistant), Jose Carlos Rivero (fourth).
ATTENDANCE
20,801
TEAM NOTES
- With the draw, the Union now have a 3-4-4 all-time record vs. Montreal Impact
- The Union have now earned points in consecutive trips to Montreal. Prior to last year’s win against Montreal on Aug. 22, the Union had never secured a point in four trips to Stade Saputo.
- C.J. Sapong scored his fifth goal of the season. His career high, which he tied last year in his first season with the Union, is nine. He also did that in 2012 with Sporting Kansas City.
- Sebastien Le Toux picked up his second assist of the season. He also has two goals this season.
- In his last six games against Montreal, Le Toux has four goals and one assist. In his last three games at Stade Saputo, he has two goals and one assist.
- Chris Pontius also added his second assist of the season. Along with his four goals, it’s the most points he has picked up since 2012.
- No. 2 overall MLS SuperDraft pick Joshua Yaro made his fifth consecutive start for the Union after breaking into the first team on April 16 against Seattle Sounders FC.
- Ray Gaddis earned his second start this season and his third appearance overall.
- Philadelphia Union return to Talen Energy Stadium on Friday, May 20 to face D.C. United at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on UniMas.
