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United-Union Preview

Apr 9, 2010 - 4:36 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

D.C. (0-2-0) at Philadelphia (0-1-0), 6:00 p.m. EDT

The Philadelphia Union are set to play in front of their home fans for the first time as they wait for their new stadium to open.

The expansion Union make their home debut Saturday night when they meet winless D.C. United at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia (0-1-0) will make its debut at soccer-specific PPL Park on June 27 against Seattle. With the stadium not ready, the Union will play their first two home games at Lincoln Financial Field.

Vice President Joe Biden will be in attendance Saturday, and Philadelphia is anxious to put on a good show for its supporters - including the Sons of Ben fan group that was instrumental in the city being awarded a franchise.

"For our home fans, we can't wait to get started," midfielder Andrew Jacobson told the Union's official Web site. "We want to right (the ship) and show the fans what we can do."

The Union lost their debut 2-0 at Seattle on March 25. Defender Toni Stahl was red carded in the 41st minute after receiving a second yellow card, hampering Philadelphia's attack.

With more than two weeks to prepare for this match, the Union believe the touch-tackling style installed by coach Peter Nowak will eventually pay dividends.

"Philadelphia is a hard-nosed city and expects its teams to play with that same attitude," Nowak said. "They appreciate the type of effort and the style of play that we'll bring to every match."

Nowak is the only person in league history to win an MLS Cup as a player and coach, leading D.C. to the title in 2004 before leaving in 2007 to become an assistant with the United States national team.

Jacobson played for D.C. in 2009 before being selected in the expansion draft.

Philadelphia would no doubt like to emulate D.C. (0-2-0), which is considered the most successful club in league history by winning four MLS Cups and four Supporters' Shields.

This United club, however, has looked like the worst team in the league after being outscored 6-0 in its losses. First-year coach Curt Onalfo is preaching patience.

"We'll just keep plugging away knowing we have a young team that's learning each day," Onalfo said. "When we get it right, it's going to be darn good."

Onalfo felt his team played OK in last week's 2-0 loss to New England in the home opener. The match was scoreless through 79 minutes, and D.C. finished with a 12-8 edge in shots.

"I felt like we created under the circumstances a lot of chances, but we could have created more," Onalfo said. "We needed to do a better job of using the width of the field better."