Bruno Damiani netted another brace to power the Philadelphia Union to a 3-1 road victory over Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday night.
Chicago struck first late in the opening half to put Philadelphia behind on the road, but the complexion of the match shifted before the break when former Union center back and current Fire captain Jack Elliott was sent off after receiving his second yellow card.
The Boys in Blue wasted little time taking advantage after halftime. Milan Iloski pulled Philadelphia level in the 49th minute before Bruno Damiani completed the turnaround just six minutes later. Damiani struck again in the 67th minute to complete his brace, giving the Union three unanswered goals in an 18-minute span and marking his team-leading third multi-goal game of the season.
Philadelphia controlled the match with the extra man from there to secure the 3-1 road victory. The win extended the Union’s winning streak to eight consecutive MLS matches and pushed their club-record unbeaten run to 14 straight.
The result continued a historic stretch for Philadelphia, with Cavan Sullivan also in the midst of a record-setting campaign after becoming the first teenager in MLS history to record 21 goal contributions in a single season.
The Boys in Blue wrap up a three-game in eight day stretch this weekend in front of the Union faithful as they host Charlotte FC at Subaru Park on Saturday afternoon. Kick off for the Kids' Day contest is set for 2:30PM ET with limited tickets available for purchase by clicking here.
How The Match Unfolded
LINEUP NOTES
Interim Head Coach Ryan Richter made two changes to the starting XI for the team's midweek matchup against Chicago -- Andre Blake started in net as usual, and the backline remained unchanged, with Nathan Harriel and Neil Pierre paired at center back, and Frankie Westfield lined up opposite Kai Wagner as outside backs. The defensive midfield featured a significant change, with Danley Jean Jacques out with a foot injury. Jesus Bueno made the start alongside Jovan Lukic, while Indiana Vassilev started on the bench for the first time since September 5th. Instead, Quinn Sullivan joined the midfield, lining up alongside his youngest brother Cavan Sullivan.Â
Up top, the team's leading goalscorers Milan Iloski and Bruno Damiani were the attacking duo.
As for the hosts,Â
5', Intensity from the start | The momentous nature of the match showed in both team's play early, with a Polish superstar Robert Lewandowski and Andre Blake battlingÂ
10', Union chance | Lukic found Westfield for Philly's first shot of the night, with the Homegrown striking the ball from outside the box in the right half-space. His attempt went just left of the post.Â
13', Big stop for Philly | A determined defensive effort from Westfield, Bueno, and Pierre stifled a promising build-up between Maren Haile-Selassie, Jonathan Bamba, and Lewandowski.
34', Chicago yellow | 21-year-old South African centerback Mbekezeli Mbokazi was shown a yellow from a foul on Damiani.
42', Another Chicago yellow | Jack Elliot was shown a costly yellow card for a foul on Damiani. With the discipline, the Union's former defender turned Chicago captain will miss his team's upcoming match against New England due to accumulation.
42', Sullivan header chance | A free kick from Iloski found C. Sullivan for a header chance, but it was saved by Chris Brady.
44', Chicago goal | Bamba found Noah Allen for a pass into the 6-yard box to Haile-Selassie to open scoring at Soldier Field.Â
45+1, Chicago red card | Elliott was shown a second yellow and sent off after taking down Milan Iloski in an attempt to run onto a pass from C. Sullivan.
Halftime |Â While Chicago entered halftime up a goal, Philly had the chance to reconvene in the locker room with an advantage in mind as the hosts were forced to play the second half with just 10-men.
46', Chicago sub |Â Gregg Berhalter made his first change of the night, replacing Bamba with Andreas Hanche-Olsen.Â
46', Sullivan shot | Q. Sullivan got a shot off one minute in to the second half of play, but his attempt was saved by Brady.Â
49', Union goal! | Iloski continued his Golden Boot-contending campaign with his 18th goal of the season, capitalzing on the man advantage with a pair of shots. His first was blocked by Brady, but after a determined effort from Westfied to send it back into the box, where Damiani backheeled the ball toward Iloski for another opportunity from same spot to make it 1-1.
55', Union take the lead! | Damiani made it 2-0 in the 55th minute, scoring a back-heeled goal off a pass from C. Sullivan. With the assist, Sullivan is tied for the top total of assists across the entire league.
67', Damiani makes it 3-1 | Damiani led a counter attack and took it on his own, smashing the ball from outside the box past Brady for his eighth goal in the last six games.
67', Chicago subs |Â Down a man and trailing by a pair of goals, Berhalter made a trio of changes as he sent on Puso Dithejane, Leonardo Barroso and Philip Zinckernagel in place of Gomez. Dean and Lewandowski.
72', More Fire changes | The final swap of the evening for Chicago saw Sergio Oregel Jr. enter for Anton Saletros.
80', First Union subs | The first changes for Richter came with 10 minutes remaining as Ezekiel Alladoh and Ben Bender replaced Cavan Sullivan and Damiani.
90+', Final Union changes | Shortly after the fourth official announced that five minutes would be added to the contest, Richter sent on Japhet Sery Larsen and Malik Jakupovic in place of Quinn Sullivan and Iloski.
