A second half goal was the difference maker in Philadelphia Union’s penultimate regular season home match against New England Revolution on Saturday afternoon at Subaru Park. In the 70th minute, 23-year-old Uruguayan striker Bruno Damiani finished off a special sequence between his teammates to score the lone goal of the match, securing all three points for Philly.
After more than 90 minutes of play, the scoreboard read 1-0, and the team added to their league-leading point total, now sitting with 60 through 31 matches played. With the victory, the Philadelphia Union held on to their top spot in the Supporters’ Shield standings, increasing their margin to two above San Diego, who drew Atlanta United later that day.
The result came on the heels of an uncharacteristic pair of losses on the road against Western Conference contender Vancouver in regular season play and Nashville in the U.S. Open Cup Semifinal, but a home win was just what the doctor ordered to end the busy week on a positive note heading into the last three matches of the season.
“'I’m very happy to get the goal and the three points today,” Damiani said. “I think after the two big losses we had, it was a very important game. Maybe we didn't play the way we can, but we get the three points. That is the most important thing right now,” Damiani said.
It was Damiani who put the ball away for his sixth goal of the season, but it didn't happen without a full team effort. The build-up featured six different players before Milan Iloski found Damiani in the box for the shot.
“I saw Milan doing the running behind, and I screamed as much as I could to. I’m happy that he listened. If I didn’t score that goal, Tai was also there. So, it's a team goal, I just did the tap-in, but it was a really good play,” Damiani said. “It was very important to come back for the victory, so I'm happy for that.”
The goal sent the already raucous sell-out crowd into a frenzy that lasted through the final whistle, and after retreating to the locker room, Indiana Vassilev, who sparked the game-winning goal, remarked on how satisfying it was for he and his team to claim all three points in their first home match in almost a month.
“Just to be at home in front of the fans…it does mean a lot. The fans do push us on. Playing at home gives us, I think, the biggest advantage in MLS,” Vassilev said.
“At home we are so good, and it's for a reason. It's because we have such a good fan base, and we have so much more confidence because of them.”
Damiani, a first-year Union player alongside Vassilev, echoed the midfielder's sentiments about the impact of Saturday's environment.
"We missed the fans. We missed playing here. We feel very comfortable playing here. Maybe it was not the best game performance, but we won after a very tough week, and we are very happy for that," he said.
The team has one final home match on the regular season schedule, hosting red-hot New York City FC at Subaru Park on October 4th. Click here to to purchase tickets to support the Boys in Blue in one of their most important matches of the year!
