Philadelphia Union hold firm to deny Sporting Kansas City

Sep 28, 2013 at 1am UK

FT(HT: 0-1)

Philadelphia Union perform a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory on the road against Sporting Kansas City.

Published: September 28 2013 | 03:18

Last updated: September 28 2013 | 14:12

Philadelphia Union have crept into a playoff spot in the MLS Eastern Conference with a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City.

The result takes the Zoros two points clear of sixth-placed New England Revolution, although they have played one game more than the Massachusetts outfit.

John Hackworth's men had gone 346 minutes without scoring a goal before Conor Casey struck against the run of play in the 36th minute, which ultimately decided the game at Sporting Park.

It was the good work of Danny Cruz that helped set up the winner, as he glided past Ike Opara before clipping a ball into the box that was only half dealt with by Aurelien Collin.

The 32-year-old striker then appeared to handle the ball, setting up Michael Farfan to fire at Jimmy Nielsen, but his shot was well saved.

However, the rebound fell to Casey, who showed no mercy in firing into the net and wheeling away amid a chorus of boos.

Nielsen denied Farfan for a second time in the 63rd minute, this time with an outstretched foot, after the midfielder got himself on the end of a Sheanon Williams cross.

The hosts dominated possession and had plenty of efforts on goal, but they were unable to break down a resolute Union side, who defended in numbers to eke out three points on the road.

The Wizards could have gone level on points with leaders New York Red Bulls had they won, but instead they remain in second place - three points ahead of Montreal Impact.

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Eastern Conference

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Inter Miami Inter Miami	34	22	8	4	79	49	30	74
2	Columbus Crew	34	19	9	6	72	40	32	66
3	FC Cincinnati Cincinnati	34	18	5	11	58	48	10	59
4	Orlando City	34	15	7	12	59	50	9	52
5	Charlotte FC Charlotte FC	34	14	9	11	46	37	9	51
6	New York City FC NY City	34	14	8	12	54	49	5	50
7	New York Red Bulls NY Red Bulls	34	11	14	9	55	50	5	47
8	CF Montreal Montreal	34	11	10	13	48	64	-16	43
9	Atlanta United Atlanta	34	10	10	14	46	49	-3	40
10	DC United	34	10	10	14	52	70	-18	40
11	Philadelphia Union Philadelphia	34	9	10	15	62	55	7	37
12	Toronto	34	11	4	19	40	61	-21	37
13	Nashville SC Nashville	34	9	9	16	38	54	-16	36
14	New England Revolution New England	34	9	4	21	37	74	-37	31
15	Chicago Fire	34	7	9	18	40	62	-22	30

Western Conference

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Los Angeles FC Los Angeles	34	19	7	8	63	43	20	64
2	Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy	34	19	7	8	69	50	19	64
3	Real Salt Lake Salt Lake	34	16	11	7	65	48	17	59
4	Seattle Sounders Seattle	34	16	9	9	51	35	16	57
5	Houston Dynamo Houston	34	15	9	10	47	39	8	54
6	Minnesota United Minnesota Utd	34	15	7	12	58	49	9	52
7	Colorado Rapids Colorado	34	15	5	14	61	60	1	50
8	Portland Timbers Portland	34	12	11	11	65	56	9	47
9	Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver	34	13	8	13	52	49	3	47
10	Austin FC Austin	34	11	9	14	39	48	-9	42
11	Dallas	34	11	8	15	54	56	-2	41
12	St Louis City	34	8	13	13	50	63	-13	37
13	Sporting Kansas City Kansas	34	8	7	19	51	66	-15	31
14	San Jose Earthquakes Earthquakes	34	6	3	25	41	78	-37	21