Philadelphia Union: Behind two assists for Pontius, the Union down the Dynamo

By Chuck Booth | May 17, 2017

May 17, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Union forward Fafa Picault (22) celebrates his goal with forward C.J. Sapong (17) against the Houston Dynamo during the first half against the Houston Dynamo at Talen Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

The winning ways continue for the Philadelphia Union as they dispatched the Houston Dynamo 2-0 at home.

Winless streaks are beginning to look like a thing of the past as the Philadelphia Union have now reeled off three straight wins and are also unbeaten in their last five. The clean sheet on Wednesday is the fourth straight for the Union, setting a club record.

After a few early chances, the Philadelphia Union got off to a quick start through the power of Fafa Picault. In the 14th minute, Picault got on the end of a cross from Chris Pontius to beat a confused Joe Willis, opening the scoring for the Union. The goal was Fafa’s second of the season after opening his scoring account for the team against DC United on Saturday.

The Union came close to doubling their advantage but it wasn’t meant to be after Ilsinho rattled the post with a shot of his own. There was a scary moment in the 30th minute when Alejandro Bedoya got up from a challenge clutching his head.

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He was visibly dazed but since MLS doesn’t require a stoppage of play for head collisions, he continued play without being looked at. While Bedoya seemed okay, it doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t have been looked at by the team’s medical staff.

Ilsinho made up for his shot off the post with a wonderful team goal in the 38th minute. After a nice layoff by CJ Sapong to Chris Pontius, Pontius fired a cross into the box that was driven home by Ilsinho. That was Pontius’ second assist of the match and Ilsinho’s first goal of the season. It gave the Union a 2-0 lead going into the half.

On the other side of the break, the Dynamo ratcheted up the pressure but the backline held strong. Oguchi Onyewu had a few scares but overall, the two were able to stymie a dangerous Dynamo attack. Much of that was due to a tactical shift that made it hard for Houston’s midfielders to string together passes. Because of that, the forwards had to drop in deeper to get the ball.

Unlike CJ Sapong, Houston’s front three isn’t accustomed to dropping deep and it caused issues for the team.

When asked about how they can keep this momentum going, Chris Pontius said, “Don’t get complacent, you know the feeling that a win does for this team and we’ve gotta keep going.”

Next: Union look to conquer the Houston Dynamo

Rotation is needed ahead of a matchup with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday but it will be up to Jim Curtin to break form to rotate the side. Confidence is high with this team and with a few more performances like this one, the climb out of the Eastern Conference can happen quickly.

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