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Union, TFC lock horns again at BMO Field

Sep 5, 2014 - 7:08 PM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Union will aim to continue their excellent form on Saturday by completing a home-and-home sweep of Toronto FC on Saturday at BMO Field.

The Union have engineered a remarkable turnaround under interim head coach Jim Curtin, who took over on June 7 and has seen the club lose just twice and reach the U.S. Open Cup final.

The club began the week three points out of a playoff position in the East knowing a win at home over a struggling Toronto on Wednesday side was a must if they want to keep their playoff aspirations alive.

With goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi and defender Carlos Valdes missing due to international call-ups and midfielder Vincent Nogueira out with a groin injury, Curtin was forced to juggle his starting 11 a bit.

But Conor Casey's tally in the 55th minute held up as the winner for a 1-0 result, making Saturday's tilt north of the boarder even more pivotal.

On the winning goal, Cristian Maidana released Sebastien Le Toux down the right flank with an excellent through ball and the Frenchman struck a driven ball across the face of goal and Casey was there to finish past TFC goalkeeper Joe Bendik first time.

"He played a great ball across," Casey said of Le Toux. "I stuck my foot out and it went in."

"Good teams win 1-0 games," Curtin said. "That's what we did tonight."

The loss leaves Toronto tied with Philadelphia and Columbus for fourth place in the East.

TFC struggled to create many quality scoring chances during the course of Wednesday's match, which doubled as the head-coaching debut for Greg Vanney, who replaced Ryan Nelsen on Sunday.

TFC was also a bit shorthanded as the club was without star striker Jermain Defoe and defenders Justin Morrow and Steven Caldwell, which forced the seldom-used Ashtone Morgan into the starting 11.

Morgan's rust was apparent as he was beaten for pace late on and pulled down Le Toux from behind, resulting in a straight red card for the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.

The Union defense held firm after that to claim the important three points with an eye toward a sweep on Saturday at BMO, where Toronto has struggled to produce results of late.

"I thought we got a little bit better in the second half in terms of our shape and using space on the field," said Vanney. "The guys worked their socks off for the entire match."