The Philadelphia Union continued their fine run of form as goals from Mikael Uhre and Daniel Gazdag saw them beat NYRB 2-0 at Red Bull Arena.
Uhre gave Philadelphia the lead shortly after half-time. He got on the end of Jack McGlynn's smart through ball before calmly slotting the ball beyond Carlos. It hit the inside of the post before crossing the line.
Gazdag doubled the lead with a little over 15 minutes remaining with his 18th goal of the season. Julian Carranza passed the ball to the Hungarian, who shot across the goal and into the bottom corner.
Jim Curtin made a handful of changes following the 4-1 win against Atlanta in midweek. Nathan Harriel, Matt Real, Jack McGlynn and Cory Burke all came into the starting XI for the game.
Dru Yearwood had the first opportunity of the game in the 17th minute. He was allowed to run through the middle before shooting from distance. However, his shot was a tame one, which proved to be a comfortable save for Andre Blake.
Luquinhas had a great chance to give NYRB the lead. They hit Philadelphia on the counter-attack as the ball was played to John Tolkin. He made his way into the penalty area before cutting it back into the six-yard box. Luquinhas tried a fancy flick to beat Blake, but the Union goalkeeper came off his line to make the save.
There was a moment of panic for the Union as Lewis Morgan's shot was blocked. A throw into the box was headed as far as Morgan, and he shot from the edge of the box. It was blocked by Glesnes, but the ball went behind him. There was a second where it was not clear where the ball would land, but fortunately, it went well wide of the target.
Real had the Union's first shot in the 45th minute. Mikael Uhre did well to get beyond a couple of NYRB defenders before he was tackled. The loose ball sat perfectly for Real to strike it first time. He unleashed a low-driven effort, but it fizzed just wide of the post.
HALF-TIME: NYRB 0-0 Philadelphia Union
Uhre gave Philadelphia the lead just three minutes into the second half. McGlynn did well to flick the ball over an NYRB player before taking it forward. He saw a gap in between the defenders and played a pass into the space. It allowed Uhre to latch onto it, and he slotted the ball beyond the oncoming Carlos. The ball bounced off the inside of the post before crossing the line.
Blake sensationally denied Omir Fernandez from scoring just before the hour. Sean Nealis headed the ball down for Fernandez to attack inside the six-yard box. Fernandez met it as he was sliding in, and it appeared that Blake was going the opposite way of the shot. The Jamaican goalkeeper did brilliantly to react and stuck an arm out to keep it out.
In the 69th minute, Ale Bedoya almost made it 2-0 to the Union. Carranza did well to get beyond a defender before passing it to Uhre on the left. Instead of shooting, Uhre squared it for Bedoya to score. However, his shot on the slide was saved by Carlos.
Five minutes later, Daniel Gazdag scored his 18th league goal of the season. NYRB lost possession outside of their box, and Julian Carranza played it to Gazdag on the left. The Hungarian struck it with his left foot across the goal and into the bottom corner as Carlos was left rooted to his spot.
Daniel Edelman came close to pulling a goal back for the hosts in the 81st minute. A free-kick into the box was headed away, but the ball bounced nicely for Edelman to strike it on the half volley. His effort had plenty of power and had Blake at full stretch, but it missed the target as it went wide of the post.
In the dying moments, Yearwood was sent off. After committing a foul, he kicked the ball into the stands in frustration and received two quickfire yellow cards.
FULL-TIME: NYRB 0-2 Philadelphia Union
NYRB: Carlos, Edelman, Long, Luquinhas (Clark 75'), Manoel (Barlow 79'), Morgan, Nealis (Fernandez 56'), Nealis, Reyes (Duncan 46'), Tolkin, Yearwood
Unused Substitutes: Meara, Carmona, Sserwadda, Ndam
Philadelphia Union: Blake, Harriel, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner, McGlynn, Flach, Real (Bedoya 58'), Gazdag, Burke (Carranza 58'), Uhre (Aaronson 88')
Unused Substitutes: Bendik, Mbaizo, Craig, Martinez, Sullivan, Donovan