On Thursday afternoon, Philadelphia Union took on their first Major League Soccer opponent of the preseason in the Chicago Fire and suffered a 4-2 defeat.

Chicago Scores First

Chicago opened the scoring early in the first half. In the 15th minute, Chicago Fire midfielder David Accam fired in a low-driven corner, which was apparently handled by Philadelphia Union midfielder Vincent Nogueira leading to the referee pointing to the penalty spot. Accam stepped up and coolly placed past diving Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.

Union Answer Right Back

However, Philadelphia would answer almost immediately back when, in the 16th minute, a Union midfielder Sebastien Le Toux found rookie Fabian Herbers in the box. Herbers backheeled the cross and directed it past Fire goalkeeper Patrick McLain to tie the game back up at one.  On the day, Herbers played about 60 minutes and showed fans why he was such a highly touted draft pick out of Creighton University. His ability to use his pace to make dangerous runs in final third will be something to watch going forward for rookie this season.

Fire Scores Right Before Half

Five minutes before half, Chicago would find a second. In the 40th minute, David Accam received a pass 30 yards out from the Union goal from Fire midfielder John Goossens. After receiving the pass, Accam used his blistering pace to beat Union rookie right back Keegan Rosenberry and then placed the ball past Blake again for his brace and a 2-1 Chicago lead.

"I think we're still in the preparation phase and so far, we're doing well.” Accam said in quotes release by Chicago Fire Communications. “We're trying to get our identity together, to know how we play, and at the moment we're doing well. We played against a strong MLS team and we won, so it's good so far."

Despite being beat by Accam with his pace, Rosenberry had a very solid day at fullback. His defensive skills were solid and also he showed his ability to press as well as get forward on offense. 

Accam Almost Scores Three

The Ghanaian International almost completed in the hat-trick in the 58th minute, when a Union turnover in the midfield gave Accam a breakaway and a nearly certain goal. The 25-year-old ran past a sprinting Blake and fired the ball on the open net. However, Union defender Ken Tribbett did not give up on the play and was able to clear the ball off the line with a sliding clearance.

In Thursday’s game, Accam showed off how dangerous he is in the final third. In the 60th minute, his shot from the top of the box was only able to be deflected by Blake, which allowed the unmarked Fire midfielder Nick LaBrocca to head the loose ball into the back of the net for the two goal advantage.

Gilberto Scores Fourth Goal for Chicago

Not even five minutes later, the Fire would add a fourth when an errant pass by Union rookie defender Josh Yaro was intercepted by Gilberto and put past newly acquired Philadelphia goalkeeper Matt Jones.

The Union did add one back in the 83rd minute when Warren Creavalle hit home a Walter Restrepo cross from inside the six -yard box. However, it would not be enough as the whistle sounded giving Chicago the 4-2 preseason win.

The Union had some good spells of possession in the first half, but were throughout overrun in the second half. On the other hand, the defense looked fairly shaky at times, especially Yaro in his 30 minutes of play. The rookie had a couple of tense moments, including the direct mistake leading to the Gilberto goal.

Season Still a Month Away

In the end, it is still a month away from the season. This was a preseason game and it is not worth looking very hard into to the extent of wins and losses. Fans should continue to watch how the rookies develop and the new roster’s ability to mesh together in the upcoming Suncoast Invitational that will take up much of the rest of the preseason for Philadelphia.

Philadelphia will continue preseason play on February 17th when they take on D.C. United in the 2016 Suncoast Invitational.