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TFC puts unbeaten streak on the line against Union

Jul 6, 2012 - 7:40 PM Chester, PA (Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Union may be four points off the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but the club is hoping that a dramatic win over the Los Angeles Galaxy last time out will turn things around.

The club is already on its second head coach of the season, but interim boss John Hackworth has seen a reversal in fortunes since he took over, with the Union going 2-2 since his appointment.

But Wednesday's 2-1 win at Los Angeles is what Hackworth is hoping will be the turning point in the season, as the Union got a goal in stoppage time from Michael Farfan to snatch all three points.

"I think any team that talks about being successful and talks about how they're going to compete, and battles hard, and all of those things -- they need this kind of result," said Hackworth. "We didn't play our best. But for the guys in that locker room to fight as hard as we fought, to dig down deep when clearly we didn't have the best legs -- it was our fourth game in 12 days -- they said 'we've got to make a play.' That was fantastic. I can't say enough about the guys in the locker room. I'm so proud of them. But those kinds of games can define a team. And certainly I think this game was a big one for us."

The Union will try build on that result on Sunday at home against Toronto FC, the team that occupies the bottom place in the East and one that is also on its second coach this season.

TFC has won just twice in 16 games so far this season, but the club brings a five-game unbeaten streak into the contest, and like Philadelphia, has seemingly responded well to a new man in charge.

Paul Mariner has helped Toronto claim a win and four draws from its last five matches, and despite the fact that the results have been better, TFC must still work on how it starts games.

The team has conceded a goal in the first five minutes of its last two matches, including a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas on Wednesday.

"I don't really know what happened, we need to do a better job of coming out for games," defender Logan Emory told MLSsoccer. "We didn't come out with a lot of energy for whatever reason. We can't give them a head start like that."

Despite its trouble at the beginning of games, TFC has been able to overcome those slow starts because of the play of striker Danny Koevermans, who has netted six goals in his last five games.