The Union played host to the high flying Sebastian Giovinco and his 10 man Toronto army at PPL park on Saturday with hopes of scrambling for a result. However, the day before the game, those hopes took a big blow when CJ Sapong was busted for DUI.Unfortunately for fans DOOPing worldwide, the bad luck continued into the 90 minute affair.
As the worst start in the clubs short history continued, so did their misfortune. Just four minutes into the game, Michael Lahoud left the game with a quad injury on his right leg. It was Richie Marquez, the rookie who was the 44th pick in last years SuperDraft who replaced him, pushing Edu into the midfield. Marquez surprisingly turned a lot of heads however, putting on a solid defensive effort and combining with Ethan White to form a formidable unit. Something the team could have done with a lot sooner!
Despite a still weakened side, the Union still somehow managed to keep some of the U.S National team regulars and Toronto FC starters, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley locked down. But there is something very unique about Mr Giovinco, something that sets him apart from many other players in the league.
In the 34th minute, the Italian left his mark at PPL Park. He effortlessly lifted a free kick from 33 yards out, dipping to the left side and beating the leaping rookie John McCarthy to give Toronto a one goal lead. A lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
The second half did see some much greater build up play from the Union. Despite a lack of chemistry in the midfield with passes struggling to find their targets and a few sloppy mistakes, the blues continued to pressure the Toronto FC goal. Fernando Aristeguieta was able to find the net in the 79th minute but it was flagged offside by the linesmen, much to the upset of the fans! Maidana almost continued the set piece trend late on but was unable to lift it over the top of the wall.
It was an old flame who continued to turn the fortunes of Toronto as they picked up their second consecutive win. Former Union goalkeeper Chris Konopka ended with a one save shutout to guide the away side to three points, further increasing the problems for a struggling Union.
The team travel to Vancouver to face the Whitecaps who are currently second in their conference following an impressive 16 points from 9 games. It will be an almighty task to end a bad run here, but stranger things have happened in the MLS..and we’re from Philadelphia..we fight.
