Full Time 2-0 Union!
90+4': Blake makes a great save on a header to keep the clean sheet
Bedoya is shown a yellow card after the goal
90'+2': GOAL Union! Barnetta adds the second goal as the Union have this game in hand! 2-0 Union
Sporting last sub: Mustivar comes out for Diego Rubio
Four minutes added at the end of the match
90': Kann makes a good save with a dive to his left
87': Sporting down to nine men! Roger Espinoza is sent off after striking Alberg. Free Kick Union from shooting range
86': Another Union throw in as Besler clears the ball out of the box
85': Union earn a throw in in the offensive half
84': Close! Davies crosses to Alberg whose shot is deflected away from danger by a good save from Kann. Corner Kick
82': Sporting Corner Kick as almost everyone pushes forward. The ball falls to the feet of a SKC on top of the box, but his curling shot is just wide. Goal Kick Union
79': Union second sub: Charlie Davies comes in for Pontius
77': Union Free Kick as Alberg is fouled by midfield
76': Sporting second sub: Feilhaber comes out for Davis
75': Brad Davis is about to come in for Sporting KC
71': Goal Kick Union
69': Union with a Corner Kick after a nice save by Kann
67': GOAL UNION! Alberg goes upper 90 with a top notch finish to put the Union up 1-0.
65': Union 1st sub: Alberg comes in for Herbers
64': Bedoya hits a weak shot right at Kann
63': Sporting Goal kick as Philadelphia's Roland Alberg is about enter the match
61': Sporting 1st subsitution: Petersen comes out for Ever Alvarado
61': Rosenberry sprays the second ball on top of the box into the River End. Goal Kick Sporting
59': Sporting down to ten men! Medrandra fouls Rosenberry and sees his second yellow on the night!
56': Ball goes right back to Philadelphia as Sporting is whistled for a foul. Free kick Union by midfield
56': Herbers' takes down Feilhaber. Free Kick Sporting in the defensive half
54':Good passing from the Union nearly leads to a scoring chance, but the ball is cleared out of the way
51': Creavalle is shown a yellow card for a poor challenge. Free Kick SKC just outside shooting range
50': Long throw-in from Rosenberry does not lead to much
49': Herbers' cross is cleared out of danger
Second half is back on!
Half-time 0-0
45': Ball is cleared out for a Corner Kick for Sporting
44': Marquez whistled for the foul as Sporting get a Free Kick
43': Union Goal Kick
42':Sporting Throw-in in the offensive half
38': Corner Kick finds a SKC head in the box, but it goes over the crossbar. Union Goal Kick
37': Sporting Corner Kick
36': Throw in for Sporting deep in Union territory
35': Fabinho and Espinoza going hard at each other as Fabinho is whistled for the foul by midfield
33': Creavalle handles the ball as Sporting get a Free Kick by midfield
30': Barnetta tries a nice bicycle kick, which ends up way wide of net
28':Ball is booted out by Sporting player as it will be retaken
27': Pontius' shot is denied by Kann and Philly get a corner kick
27': Dwyer is offsides around midfield
25': Blake beats Dwyer to the ball to claim it
23': Dwyer fouls Creavalle by midfield. Free Kick Union
22': Leads to nothing more than a Goal Kick for Sporting
22': Union throw deep in Sporting territory
20': Two yellow cards issued to Sporting's Espinoza and Medranda as Barnetta is taken out from behind before the Union could break
19':Sporting Goal Kick as the Union continue to build up some good offensive spurts
18': Pontius up in arms as he yells to the ref about him being held. Referee saw nothing in it as Sporting get a Goal Kick
17': Sapong draws a foul in the offensive half as Barnetta lines up to take it.
15': Another good Fabinho cross skips across the goalmouth and no one is hope to put it in. Philadelphia earn a free kick from the right offensive flank as Barnetta stands over it
14': Scrambling defense from the Union to try to deal with Dwyer, Feilhaber and company
12': Free kick Union by midfield
11': Fabinho with a one time cross that skips across the goalmouth inches away from a diving Sapong. Goal Kick Sporting
10': Another almost lethal mistake almost gives Sporting a breakaway until Blake coems out to claim the errant ball
9': Good footwork from Barnetta as he gets off a curling shot which is parried away by a diving Kann
9': Union throw in the offensive half
8': Union trying to build out of the back
7': Long throw is not cleared well, but luckily Blake is there to catch the weak header with ease
6': Sporting throw in the offensive half
4': Union do well to clear it, only allowing a SKC throw-in in the offensive half
4': SKC throw-in by the Union corner flag.
3': Pontius handles the ball as he tries to bring it down. Free Kick Sporting by midfield
2': Union throw by midfield
2':Bad mistake by Creavalle in the midfield leads to a SKC break, where the resulting shot goes wide.
1':Marquez pushes Dwyer to the ground and SKC have a free kick by midfield
Here we go! Union will start with the ball
Kickoff is moments away!
So Zusi will be back at left wing for this matchup as Abdul-Salaam will be at right back. Herbers will also be at right wing as Ilsinho must not be fit enough to make the 18
Were here live from Talen Energy Stadium! Lineups incoming
Fans and spectators should keep an eye on the rookie Pennsylvania native as he likely will match up against Benny Feilhaber. Feilhaber is an excellent and creative midfielder who has six goals to go with seven assists on the season.
“I think Keegan is the best rookie in our league right now; I think he’s established himself as such,” Curtin said about his rookie left back.
Speaking of defensive players, Philadelphia’s Keegan Rosenberry continues to make quite the case for himself as MLS Rookie of the Year. In Wednesday’s win, Rosenberry notched his second goal on the season while continuing to excel defensively.
In Sporting’s 4-3-3 formation, Graham Zusi , usually a winger, got the start at right back in last Saturday’s match and could be in line for another start in the backline with numerous defensive players out for SKC.
To compound the issue, the MLS Disciplinary Committee suspended Kansas City defender Kevin Ellis for the game against Philadelphia. Ellis received the start in las Saturday’s win along with Matt Besler in central defense. With Ellis’ suspension, one possible replacement for the centerback could be Ike Opara could be in line to replace him in the starting eleven.
According to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, defenders Seth Sinovic, Chance Myers, Nuno Coelho and Lawrence Olum did not travel to Philadelphia with the team due to injuries. Further, goalkeeper Tim Melia did not travel either with the team for the Saturday night match to add to the defensive injuries
However, Sporting has not been in good form on the road as of lately. SKC has not picked up a victory in 11 straight MLS road games. As mentioned previously, Sporting does have success in Talen Energy Stadium so it will be interesting to watch the comfort levels of Vermes’ club.
“We came in with a very specific game plan and you could tell by the lineup out there, how we had changed things around. They executed very well in the game,” said Sporting Kansas City Head Coach Peter Vermes after his team’s win last Saturday. “The biggest thing was the energy level. The energy level was tremendous and it's not like the other team was dealing with heat or anything because it was a nice night. For us to be fitter than they were was big time for us.”
Sporting come into this interconference match one point better than Philadelphia with 38 points through 27 games, which is good for fifth place in the MLS Western Conference. Kansas City will look to build more momentum for their playoff push after defeating Vancouver Whitecaps, 2-0, last Saturday.
“I think our fans have something to be proud of.” Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin said after his team’s win on Wednesday. “This team is resilient; it’s a true Philadelphia-type team. It’s blue-collar, tough, doesn’t let adversity get in the way, and in the words of Rasheed Wallace, the ball doesn’t lie.”
Philadelphia are currently locked in a tie with New York Red Bulls as both teams have 37 points through 26 games. For Philadelphia, Sautrday’s match will be their third in the last seven days. After losing to Toronto FC, 3-1, last Saturday, Philadelphia rebounded with a 2-1 win Wednesday at Columbus Crew.
Both teams come into Saturday night with similar records.
Philadelphia hosted Sporting last September for U.S. Open Cup Finals. Both teams were so evenly matched that penalties kicks were required to settle the final. It would come down to the eighth round when Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia denied Philadelphia winger Andrew Wenger. Sporting’s Jordi Quintilla beat John McCarthy with his penalty kick to give Kansas City the Open Cup Trophy.
Philadelphia and Kansas City played twice last season: once in Major League Soccer play and once in the Lamar Hunt United States Open Cup Finals. In their league matchup last April, Philadelphia conceded two late goals at Children’s Mercy Park to lose, 3-2.
The head referee for the match will be Juan Guzman. The two assistant referees will be C.J. Morgante and Jason White. The four official will be Mark Kadlecik.
The game will available on local TV on The Comcast Network in Philadelphia and KMCI-38 in Kansas City. The game will also be via MLS LIVE.
Welcome to VAVEL USA’s LIVE coverage of the 2016 Major League Soccer Regular Season action. Tonight’s MLS interconference matchup between the Philadelphia Union and Sporting Kansas City will take place at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. This is the first matchup between the two sides this season. I’m Jordan Wohl, and I’ll be providing minute-to-minute updates, commentary, and results of the match. The game starts at 7 PM EST and there will be coverage pregame, mid-game, and postgame.