The Philadelphia Union and D.C. United reserve squads met for the second time in less than a week, this time at United’s training complex, and the home team came away with a 1-0 win.
The game, played in front of a small crowd on a beautiful Friday afternoon was packed with end-to-end action for much of the ninety minutes, much of the action coming from the home side.
D.C. United’s Stephen King scored in the eighth minute on a side-volley inside Philadelphia’s 18-yard box. For the remainder of the game’s first half, the Black-and-Red retained much of the possession and controlled the flow of the game.
United almost put away a second just ten minutes later when Brazilians Maicon Santos and Raphael Augusto combined inside the Union 18-yard box, but the final shot was denied by a lunging Jordan.
Just five minutes before the half, Philadelphia had its best chance of the match when a shot from distance by Pfeffer was saved by United keeper Joe Willis. D.C. United went into half with a 1-0 lead over the Union.
The second half saw numerous substitutions by both sides, four from the home side and three from the visiting side. The lone chance in the second half came when trialist Yann Ekra found himself alone with Philadelphia’s goalkeeper. Harrison made a fingertip save on Ekra’s shot to keep the score at 1-0.
D.C. United finished out the final 18 minutes of the game with midfielder Lance Rozeboom on the field in his first action of the season following an April ACL tear. United moves to 3-4-1 in reserve league action while the Philadelphia Union moves to 3-4-2.
D.C. United Starting XI:
Willis; C. Najar, White, Dudar, Chabala; Paeckart, Shanosky, Ekra, King, Augsto; Santos
Substitutes:
Brandt, Rozeboom, Dykstra, D. Najar
Philadelphia Union Starting XI:
Harrison; McConnell, Jordan, Lopez, Richards; McCaughlin, Kassel, Hernandez, Pfeffer, Torres; Hoffman
Substitutes:
Konopka, Lassiter, Witkowski, Ramirez
* denotes academy player
* denotes trialist
SCORING SUMMARY:
8’: D.C. United – King (Ekra);
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:
PHI – Pfeffer (caution) 86’
SUBSTITUTIONS:
DC – Dykstra on for Willis; 46’
DC – Brandt on for Santos; 61’
PHL – Lassiter on for McConnell; 71’
DC – Rozeboom on for Augusto; 72’
PHL – Ramirez on for Hernandez; 77’
DC – D. Najar on for Ekra; 83
PHL – Witkowski on for Kassel*
