Sunday night's match between the Philadelphia Union and the San Jose Earthquakes saw the long awaited debut of Algerian World Cup hero and goalkeeper, Rais M'Bohli. But it was Pennsylvania-native Andrew Wenger who would steal the Algerian's spotlight as he had what some fans described as his best ever night in a Philadelphia Union jersey, hitting San Jose for two.
San Jose enjoyed the bulk of possession early on, controlling the ball in their half with Philadelphia pressuring off the ball. That possession would lead to the first chance of the game as Cordell Cato would hit a shot wide of the goal after a nice series of passes in the 3rd minute. Philadelphia would get their own spell of possession, as Sebastian Le Toux's costless kick was cleared out for a corner after a short game of header volleyball in the 7th minute.
Just minutes later Philadelphia would open the scoring when San Jose midfielder Tommy Thompson was fouled by Carlos Valdes. The costless-kick hit in by Shea Salinas led to a Philadelphia counter-attack led by Le Toux whose pass to Wenger in the box was accurate enough to let him place the ball into the corner of the net for a goal in the 10th minute. San Jose's best opportunity of the half would come in the 35th minute when a ball was hit to the back post and Cato would get a foot to the ball but be unable to direct his shot towards goal. Salinas was the danger man for San Jose in the first half running at defenders tirelessly, but he could not get anything going for San Jose's attack as the first half ended 2-0 in favor of the Union.
Union keeper Rais M'bohli was called into action on a real chance for the first time as he made a double save in the 47th minute. M'Bohli would be forced to come up big again in the 53rd minute when he punched Salinas' costless kick away confidently. Philadelphia almost added a third in the 57th minute when Union defender Sheanon Williams' cross reached the head of Connor Casey whose header was saved spectacularly by San Jose keeper Jon Busch. San Jose would make things interesting as they pulled one back in the 59th minute when Union defender Carlos Valdes headed a long ball away, only for it to fall to the feet of Sam Cronin who sent a rocket into the back of the net for his first goal of the season and to make the score 2-1.
Philadelphia would have a chance to add to their slim lead in the 65th minute when Designated Player Vincent Nogueira took a shot from the left but it was pushed wide by Busch. Despite a quiet game, the ever dangerous Chris Wondolowski would appear in the 70th minute when a ball was hit to the far post. In classic poacher fashion, Wondo was there to tap the ball in and make the game 2-2. However, just a minute later a costless kick from Le Toux was curled in and Williams met it with his head to put Philadelphia up 3-2.
Wondolowski would pop up again in the 75th minute as Salinas found him in the box but was swarmed by defenders and the ball was cleared. Then in the 79th minute, a time period during which the Union have traditionally struggled this season, Wenger would add the insurance goal as he surged forward on a solo run to score with a flick of his right foot. Not much would happen from that point on and the Union would earn a valuable 3 points with a 4-2 win over San Jose.
The Union's next match is at home on September 3rd when they host 3rd place Toronto FC. Meanwhile, San Jose's next match is August 30th when they host Real Salt Lake.