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Union aim to keep rolling against NYCFC at PPL

Jun 5, 2015 - 8:21 PM Chester, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of Eastern Conference rivals trending in opposite directions will clash on Saturday when the Philadelphia Union welcome expansion side New York City FC to PPL Park.

After starting the season with one win in its first 11 matches, Philadelphia seems to have turned a corner by winning three of its last four, including a dominating 3-0 destruction of Columbus Crew SC at PPL Park on Wednesday.

Philadelphia opened the scoring in the 41st minute as Cristian Maidana worked his way through the Crew defense and slid it through to Sebastien Le Toux inside the box. Le Toux then found C. J. Sapong alone in close for an easy tap-in.

In the 53rd minute Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark fumbled the ball at the edge of the box and Vincent Nogueira did well to place a chipped effort into the bottom left, leaving an out-of-position Clark with no chance.

Le Toux put the finishing touches on Columbus when Sheanon Williams sent a beautiful pass in to the box. Le Toux sent a right footed shot from very close range into the back of the net.

"There's now four strong showings in a row and I think something special is about to happen," head coach Jim Curtin said. "Again it's still only four games that we've put together so we need to keep it going. In a lot of ways it's good to get a quick turnaround against NYCFC because we're in a good way right now. It was great for our fans to come out here on a Wednesday night and cheer us on. I thought was loud, they pushed us, they were behind us from the opening whistle, and were kind of the 12th man out there for us."

New York City, meanwhile, is mired in a horrific slump as the club heads into Saturday's clash winless in 11 straight matches. Jason Kreis' side has just one win and has sunk to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Last time out, the club claimed a point in a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo at Yankee Stadium.

New York City fell behind after 16 minutes when Alexander Lopezs corner kick was headed down into a dangerous area by David Horst as Will Bruin one-timed his volley into the back of the net from six yards out.

The hosts got their break right before the interval. Defender Jeb Brovsky served up a dangerous ball into the box. Adam Nemec and Raul Rodriguez both jumped up for it and the latter was called for the infraction, resulting in a penalty kick which David Villa expertly converted.

"We were very close," Villa said. "I think we had good chances, and I think we dominated throughout the game. We just to have to keep going, and work harder, and look forward to the next game vs. Philadelphia."

This will be the third and final meeting between the sides. Philadelphia claimed a 2-1 win over New York at PPL Park on April 11 and the sides battled to a 1-1 draw in the Bronx on April 16.