The Philadelphia Union hosted FC Dallas on Saturday afternoon in a match that was supposed to be played Friday night. The game was postponed due to a winter storm. The match was a tough one for the Union, as Dallas entered the match as the only team with a perfect record after just two weeks, winning both games in convincing fashion. Dallas would make it three in a row with a 2-0 victory at PPL Park over the 10-man Union.  The Union entered the game missing their best attacking player in Cristian Maidana, who was out with a knee injury suffered in training this week. His replacement, the club’s first-ever homegrown signing Zach Pfeffer, lasted just 42 minutes until a red card ended his day and left his team shorthanded with no real attacking presence in the midfield.

The game started well and was fairly even, with both sides having good scoring opportunities, but quickly turned sour for the Union. First, right back Sheanon Williams had to come off in the 22nd minute as a precaution due to hamstring tightness. He was replaced by Fabinho, with Raymond Gaddis shifting from left to right back. The first half featured four yellow cards, two to each team prior to Pfeffer’s red for an elbow to Mauro Diaz’s head. Despite this, the scoreless first half gave the Union some hope for the second half. That quickly changed when Fabinho had a clearance attempt blocked by Tesho Akindele, who broke in on Rais M’Bolhi uncontested and fired home the first goal in the 49th minute. M’Bolhi was able to get his right foot on the ball but only got a piece of it and was unable to prevent it from finding the far corner. Ryan Hollingshead doubled the lead ten minutes later, also scoring on a low drive to the far post (M’Bolhi’s right side) in the 59th minute.

In a match that was surprisingly even in terms of the statistics FC Dallas looked beatable on Saturday, which will no doubt leave the Union feeling even more frustrated after beginning the season with two draws. More troubling for them is that they may very well face Chicago next week without Maidana, Pfeffer and Williams, and C.J. Sapong is out indefinitely with a mild concussion and broken cheekbone. The Union simply made too many mistakes and their passing seemed off, with many of them going right to a Dallas player. If there was one positive to take away from the match for Philadelphia it was the debut of Cameroonian youngster Eric Ayuk, who impressed on trial during the preseason. He is quick and willing to take on defenders, something that the Union sometimes lack. The Union will be hoping Williams’ hamstring recovers quickly and that the disciplinary committee looks favorably upon Pfeffer and doesn’t suspend him longer than the automatic one game.

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