Union earn late point against Revs

New England Revolution 1-Philadelphia Union 1

The big question for the Philadelphia Union entering into the playoff stretch was whether the young side could get points on the road. If Wednesday night’s match against the New England Revolution was any indication then the answer is emphatically yes. Thanks to a late goal from Kacper Przybylko the Union escaped Gillette with a 1-1 draw.

Cristian Penilla’s work in the midfield helped spur New England’s attack on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Union (Photo Credit: Kari Heistad/Captured Images)

New England started the match on the offensive, using the speed of Wilifried Zahibo and Luis Caicedo in the middle to force the Union defense on their heels. Zahibo scored the games first goal in the 17th minute after Carles Gil hit a deft cross into the box. His header initially looked promising but the chance went wide right of the goal.

Gil had another crack at an assist in the 30th minute, feeding a quality pass into the box for Juan Agudelo. Agudelo’s shot however would also go wide of the mark.

The Union weren’t so lucky on the Revs next attacking chance. In the 31st minute, Gil hit a corner towards a wide open Brandon Bye who slotted his shot into the back of the net. The goal was his first as a professional and more importantly gave New England the 1-0 advantage.

In the second half Philadelphia’s attack seemed to be kept at bay thanks in part due to tight man-marking from Andrew Farrell and Jalil Anibaba. But in the 83rd minute the Union found their equalizer. Midfielder Fafa Picault made a darting run down the right flank, hitting a low pass into the box. Farrell intercepted the pass but was unable to make the clear. Przybylko scooped up the errant clear and put his shot into the back of the net.

Philadelphia nearly had the match-winner in injury time when Picault found Ilsinho with space to operate. His shot however was saved by New England Brad Knighton ending the match level.

With the point Philadelphia maintained a bit of distance over Montreal Impact (9-7-3, 30 points) and D.C. United (8-4-6, 30 points), both of whom were victorious on Wednesday night. To maintain their hold on first place in the Eastern Conference standings on Saturday when they take on New York City FC (7PM EST, ESPN +).

As for New England (4-8-5, 17 points) while they will certainly be stinging over dropping points late the side continued their run of positive form. They have now earned a point in each of their last five matches, gradually improving their chances at moving up the ladder in the East and vying for a playoff spot. Their next step will be on Saturday night as they host the Houston Dynamo (7:30 pm EST, ESPN +).