Union extinguish Fire to maintain their hold of first place in the Eastern Conference

Jim Curtin’s Philadelphia Union took another big step toward a momentous season achievement as they defeated Chicago Fire 4-1 on Saturday night.

The victory keeps the Union sitting atop the Eastern Conference and undefeated at home. The manner of their success rids memory of last weekend’s defeat in Cincinnati and sets the squad back on track to its winning ways from July.

Curtin made a number of changes to last weekend’s starting lineup, sliding Leon Flach into the No. 6 over Jose Martinez and slotting homegrown talent Jack McGlynn into the left side of his 4-4-2 diamond. It’s a lineup he’s used this season, and McGlynn in the midfield had an immediate impact on the creativity of the squad, progressing the ball forward through possession.

“He’s a special young player,” Curtin said. “He’s going to get better and better, and we’re going to continue to push him. And he probably won’t be here too many more years”

The first 15 minutes of the opening half tilted slightly in Chicago’s favor. The visiting team at times dominated as high as 70% of the possession, but not for long. Despite that, Philadelphia was aggressive on the counter, getting as many shots off as Chicago’s more dominant possession could find. Throughout the match, the opportunities Chicago did create were stymied by the Union’s back line and stolid goalkeeper, Andre Blake.

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As the half wore on, possession edged closer to parity, and Union got the ball into the final third with increasing ease. The first goal came in the 16th minute, and the night belonged to Philadelphia from there.

Julián Carranza collected the ball moving forward from the left and crossed to Dániel Gazdag, who was well-positioned in the box. Gazdag showed composure as he gathered the ball — though falling slightly off balance as Chicago’s defenders descended around him — and sent the ball past Gabriel Slonina into the back left corner of the net. The goal marks Gazdag’s 12th this season.

Philadelphia found its second goal in the 37th minute. The Union have been compelling off of set pieces this year, and they found one off a corner thanks to a rebound putaway by English center back Jack Elliott. The original ball was sent in wide but found Olivier Mbaizo waiting at the top of the box to collect it off a deflection. Mbaizo sent a powerful header toward net, and, as Slonina tapped the ball upward, deflecting the original goal attempt, Elliott descended on him to knock in the rebound.

Coming out from the half, Chicago found brief momentum once again, and put away its only goal of the evening in the 49th minute. Xherdan Shaqiri and Chris Mueller (the attackers who eluded Philadelphia’s defense in June) connected for a goal as Shaqiri found Mueller on a quick counter attack, capitalizing on Philadelphia’s back line in a brief moment of disarray.

Keeping Shaqiri at bay had been a focus for the Union. Curtin trained the team to have multiple players running at him when he gets the ball.

“He’s the best player on the field, so let’s not let him be the one that beats us,” Curtin said, adding, “We did OK, but he still set up a goal and hurt us.”

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The momentum didn’t last long for Chicago. Minutes later, Gazdag sent a line-breaking pass in to Mikael Uhre, whose shot was blocked by Slonina as he came out of his goal to dive on it. Once again, though, the rebound came back to bite Slonina as Carranza sprinted forward to collect the rebound and float it up and over into the net.

“I think the connection between the three of us is really good, not only tonight but since a while,” Gazdag said of himself, Carranza, and Uhre.

The Union weren’t done there. Curtin sent in a pair of substitutes in the 72nd minute which shifted Flach back to the left as Jose Martinez subbed in for McGlynn and Cory Burke replaced Uhre up top. Ten minutes later, Burke found a goal. Mbaizo sent a cross into the box where Burke stood waiting for an easy tap-in at the back post, giving Burke his fifth of the season.

Two more homegrowns made late appearances as Quinn Sullivan and Paxten Aaronson were sent in at the 86th minute for Gazdag and Carranza. With fresh legs and consistent momentum, the Union closed out the match with ease to secure all three points.

The Union remain in first place, in contention for the Supporters’ Shield, and appear poised to make a deep run in the playoffs. They’ll head to Dallas now for a midweek match with only 10 matches left before the playoffs.