Union keeps rolling, takes down New York Red Bulls 2-0 in I-95 Derby

The Philadelphia Union remained hot on Saturday night, picking up a win against the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey. It was the team’s fourth win in a row, as they continue to set themselves up for a battle for the Supporters’ Shield.

Goals from Mikael Uhre and Daniel Gazdag proved to be the difference in a recently one-sided derby match.

Jim Curtin rolled out a unique lineup against Red Bull, featuring five changes from the previous matchup against Atlanta. Most interesting of all the switches was the addition of Matt Real to the left side of the diamond after Jose Martinez was a late scratch.

Real hadn’t started an MLS regular season match in 490 days; his last start was a loss to NYCFC in May 2021.

The Red Bulls saw their first chance come within the first ten minutes, when Jakob Glesnes inadvertently tripped Elias Manoel just outside the 18-yard-box on a deep run. Glesnes received a yellow card, but New York was unable to challenge the Union defense on the free kick.

New York kept its chances coming, including a backheel in front of the net from Luquinhas that forced an up-close save from Andre Blake. Lewis Morgan gave the Red Bulls another opportunity, when his shot deflected off of Glesnes and Blake dove the wrong way. Luckily for Philadelphia, Glesnes deflected went wide of the goal.

Neither side was able to score in the first half, but the Union was certainly the worse team. They took just one shot in the half, and it was nowhere near challenging Carlos Miguel Coronel.

However, it didn’t take long for the Union to find their go-ahead goal. Jack McGlynn laid a nice pass off to Uhre in the box, who snuck the ball past Coronel. Uhre has recorded a goal and/or assist in each of the last four matches.

Ten minutes later, New York was knocking on Philly’s doorstop, and Andre Blake made yet another incredible save. This time, the Jamaican stopped two shots, one of which while sitting on the ground, both from less than four yards away.

Philadelphia had another big chance in the 69th minute when Uhre laid a pass off to Alejandro Bedoya in front of the goal. However, Bedoya wasn’t able to put the ball past Coronel, who maneuvered well to the side, and New York stayed alive.

Four minutes later, it was Gazdag with a chance in front of the net, as he beat a sliding defender, while Coronel didn’t even dive for the shot as it rolled into the far side netting. Julian Carranza, who started the play by forcing a turnover, and Uhre both picked up assists on the play.

From Gazdag’s goal, which was his 18th on the year, Philly slowed the game down. They allowed the Red Bulls to hold possession, but not to use it well.

As the game wore down, Red Bull became frustrated. In the dying moments, Dru Yearwood fired a dead ball into the stands, hitting a fan. Yearwood climbed into the stands to apologize but was waved away by fans. He then received two yellow cards, one for the kick and the second for climbing into the stands, leading to his late ejection.

The Union wrapped the game up without further issue, as they returned home to Chester with 60 points. A professional performance from the team placed them first in the Shield race, though LAFC does have two fewer games played.

The Union will return home for a matchup against Orlando City SC on Saturday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m.