Thanks to Bruno Damiani's lone goal in the 71st minute, the Philadelphia Union bounce-back from consecutive humbling defeats to beat the New England Revolution by a score of 1-0, keeping them atop of the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield standings with just 3 games left in their MLS Season.
The win brings Union's record to 18W-6D-7L, and makes them the first team to reach 60 points in Major League Soccer this season. It's just the 2nd time the Union have reached 60 points in the standings in club history, with the first coming in the 2022 season(66 points).
Starting XI
Despite missing Jovan Lukic and Olwethu Makhanya to suspension due to Yellow Card accumulation, the blue and gold got a big boost on Saturday afternoon with the reintegration of Andre Blake back into the starting XI for the first time since coming off the field injured against Red Bulls on August 16th.
Formation: 4-2-2-2
GK: BlakeRB: Westfield, CB: Glesnes, CB: Harriel, LB: WagnerCDM: Bueno, CDM: DanleyCAM: Q. Sullivan, CAM: VassilevST: Damiani, ST: Baribo
Bruno Damiani Gives Union 1-0 Lead
In the 71st minute and with frustration growing in a 0-0 game at home, Bruno Damiani finally found the back of the net to give Union the late advantage at Subaru Park.
After dispossession Carles Gil in the midfield, the Union passed the ball around looking for ways to infiltrate New England's low block which had stymied the blue and gold's attack until that point. But after 12 consecutive passes around the Rev's defenders, Milan Iloski found himself inside the box to Matt Tunrner's left, and played an inviting ball into the middle of the penalty area right for Damiani to run onto and poke into the back of the net to give the Union a 1-0 lead.
The goal scored by Damiani was his 6th of the season. Milan Iloski (3) and Frankie Westfield (5) get credited with the assists on the play.
Peyton Miller gets sent off
In the 75th minute, just a couple moments after Damiani found the breakthrough, New England's Peyton Miller was shown Red and sent to the locker room early.
Already on a yellow, Miller put his body into Quinn Sullivan on a loose ball, which got him whistled for a committing a foul. To his young midfielders defense, Tai Baribo came into the fray to remind Peyton Miller that shots like that don't go unnoticed in Philadelphia, and in response, Miller chuckled the ball at the back of Tai Baribo.
It was an easy decision for the referee and Peyton Miller, who just received a call-up to the US Mens Youth Nation Team for the U-20 World Cup, made the long walk to the Subaru Park locker rooms to watch the rest of the game by himself.
Andre Blake records 7th clean sheet of 2025
Andre Blake's return to the staring XI was met with a a big applause from the fans when his named was said during yesterday's Staring XI announcement in the stadium prior to kick-off, and Blake returned the love from the fans with his 7h clean sheet win of the season.
He didn't have much to do, making just 1 save on the night - but boy what a big save it was. In the 93rd minute and with the Union looking to close out the game, Tomás Chancalay got an opportunity to level the game and steal points away from Union's Supporters' Shield dreams.
Coming down the right side of the pitch to Andre Blake's left, Chancalay received the ball just outside the penalty area, speed his was past Glesnes, and let a right-footed shot fly from a difficult angle.
Andre Blake made the save and deflected the ball out to safety, but his positioning more than anything else is what kept Chanacalay's heavy shot out of the net and he positioned himself against the near post.
It's Andre Blake's 7th clean sheet of the season and the Union's 12th as a whole. Between Andre Blake and Andrew Rick, the Union have conceded the 2nd fewest goals, and have the 2nd most clean sheets in Major League Soccer.
Looking forward
The Union held on for the remainder of the game following Millers' red card, claiming a vital 3 points to maintain their lead in the Eastern Conference and remain the team with the highest points tally in all of MLS. With just three game remaining in the regular season, it's imperative that Philadelphia finishes strong, and grinding out results like this really matters.
The Union will be without Tai Baribo for their next clash against the struggling D.C United, but all eyes will really be fixed on the following game against NYCFC as one that could carry plenty of weight.
