The Philadelphia Union continue to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. Saturday’s trip to Vancouver to play the Whitecaps was a chance to divert some of the attention from the negativity of the past few weeks. The attempt was a failure. Vancouver dominated the hapless Union, punishing them for simple fundamental mistakes in a 3-0 win. The goalkeeping situation has become a nightmare for Philadelphia and today started on-loan Brian Sylvestre with a league pool player as his backup. Sylvestre made his MLS debut and held his own but his defense let him down several times.

Pedro Morales opened the scoring in the 32nd minute and Octavio Rivero doubled the lead just before halftime. Both goals were the result of poor defending and poor back passes that put the defense in a bad position to defend the goal. Darren Mattocks scored the final goal in the 81st minute after Union defender Richie Marquez was given a controversial red card in the 78th minute for a rash challenge.

Injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on the Union, as has poor play from key players. Union manager Jim Curtin has said that the team lacks the depth to compete if even one player has a bad game. That does not bode well for a season that has quickly careened out of control. Philadelphia hosts D.C. United next Sunday night. A win is necessary to help prevent hitting rock bottom, but it is unlikely the fall will stop soon.

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