One year ago tonight, the Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Union's offense erupted with five second-half goals to knock out New England Revolution. Below is the original match recap from PhiladelphiaUnion.com.
The first chance of the match came from Brenden Aaronson as he fed Ale Bedoya up the left channel but the captain couldn’t get a lot on his shot.
Three minutes later, Fafa Picault was the man on the end of things as he tried to fire a left-footed shot across goal but did not have the power to beat Cody Cropper.
New England’s response came quickly and was extremely dangerous. Carles Gil worked his way into space up the left and slid a cross into DeJuan Jones arriving late in the box. Carlos Miguel Coronel flicked the shot onto the post but Juan Fernando Caiceido was on the doorstep. Coronel rose quickly and smothered the follow-up attempt at close-range.
That stop proved crucial as Jack Elliott continued his fine scoring form against the Revs with a stunning trap, turn, and finish in the 11th minute. When New England failed to fully clear a corner, Haris Medunjanin put the ball through the lines to Elliott in the box and the big defender pulled a svelte spin and drove the ball home.
The Revs began to create chances off set pieces using Gil’s excellent deliveries. Agudelo latched onto one and pushed it wide of the post as the visitors continued to find ways to pull apart what has been a tight Union defense throughout the past month and a half.
New England broke through in the 35th minute with Brenden Aaronson off the pitch with an injury. Edgar Castillo attacked the left channel and Caiceido slid through to tap his cross past Coronel.
Aaronson left the match and Ilsinho came on, and once the second half began the Brazilian made New England wish they’d never gone after Philly’s homegrown. Combining with Jamiro Monteiro up the right, Ilsinho broke in alone at a tight angle on Cropper and deftly lifted the bal over the goalie to give Philly the lead.
They would never look back.
Sergio Santos came into the match in the 69th minute for Fafa Picault and the floodgates opened. A transition up the left through Medunjanin and Wagner led to a cross that Santos tapped off of Andrew Farrell’s leg and past Cropper. Five minutes later the Brazilian followed up a Przybylko shot and looped the ball over the prone goalie to create a three goal cushion.
After notching two goals in his first two starts, Przybylko was not ready to be left out of this scoring surge. He found a pocket in the box when Ale Bedoya slipped free on the right and drove the captain’s cross into the back of the net.
At 5-1, the Union were cruising but Santos, who has been fighting his way back to fitness after a pair of injuries slowed him when the season began, kept the pressure on the Revs’ makeshift back line.
In the 88th minute, he smacked a shot on goal then chased down his own rebound before finding David Accam in the center for goal number six.
New England was truly broken, and the Union solidified their place at the top of the Eastern Conference table. Even with DC United’s high-powered offense chasing Philly there was no doubt who was going to head into the second week of May in first place.
