Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Union (1-0-6) battled back from a deficit to ultimately defeat CF Montr\u00e9al (1-0-6), securing their first win and points of the 2026 MLS season. Iv\u00e1n Jaime\u2019s opener was canceled out by Union defender Japhet Sery Larsen\u2019s header, before Jes\u00fas Bueno hammered home the winner. The result sees the Union lifted out of the Eastern Conference basement, and means the Union are safe from the ignominy of extending their franchise worst start to the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
First Half<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Union began the game with energy, and briefly controlled the tempo, but were unable to create any meaningful chances in their opening flurry. CF Montr\u00e9al quickly took over, and the contest became a disjointed affair, featuring many fouls, yellow cards, and two VAR reviews.<\/p>\n
In the 13th minute, Montr\u00e9al were gifted a big chance following a mistake from Jovan Luki\u0107. The Serbian midfielder was dispossessed in the Union\u2019s half by Wiki Carmona, but his through ball to Iv\u00e1n Jaime was cut out by the on-rushing Andre Blake. Despite Referee Alexis Da Silva awarding a penalty to Montr\u00e9al, VAR confirmed that Blake got a touch, over turning the spot kick.<\/p>\n
The Union had their first truly threatening moment in the 22nd minute. Jes\u00fas Bueno\u2019s in-swinging cross went into the danger area and CFM keeper Thomas Gillier was unable to punch it away. The ball fell to Damiani, but the Uruguayan forward rushed his shot, and it blazed over the bar.<\/p>\n
Shortly after, Montr\u00e9al would open the scoring through Iv\u00e1n Jamie. Efrain Morales played a first-time pass up the field that caught the Union defense in the moment of transition. Jamie was the benefactor, dribbling around Makhanya and coolly finishing past Blake. After another VAR check, this time for a potential foul on Ben Bender in the build up, Da Silva opted to let the goal stand.<\/p>\n
Milan Iloski recorded the Union\u2019s first shot on goal in the 42nd minute, but his long range free kick was ultimately a simple save for Gillier.<\/p>\n
Jes\u00fas Bueno\u2019s ripping volley nearly tied the game in first half added time, but the Montr\u00e9al keeper was equal to the effort, sending the Union back to the locker rooms staring down the barrel of a 7th straight loss.<\/p>\n
Second Half<\/p>\n
Although the Union looked sluggish out the gates \u2013 and required a big Andre Blake save in the 52nd minute to keep them in the game \u2013 Philadelphia was able to flip the script on their hosts, battling back to win the match.<\/p>\n
In the 55th minute, the Boys in Blue found an equalizer. Predictably, the chance came from a free kick, which saw Iloski\u2019s delivery find an unmarked Sery Larsen, who easily headed home from close range.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the 66th minute, Head Coach Bradley Carnell turned to his bench, subbing in Ezekiel Alladoh for Ben Bender.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Boys in Blue would find their go-ahead goal in the 70th minute through Jes\u00fas Bueno. Nathan Harriel launched a long throw into the box, and Alladoh flicked on a headed pass, finding the run of Bueno. The Venezuelan made no mistake with his finish, giving the Union the lead.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia kept the pressure on in search of a third goal. Second half sub Alejandro Bedoya nearly iced the game in spectacular fashion, with a diving header in the 84th minute, but Gillier was somehow able to get a hand to it.<\/p>\n
A Montr\u00e9al free kick in the 6th minute of added time was the final chance of the game. But, Olger Escobar overhit the delivery, sending the ball into the stands. Da Silva blew his whistle for full-time, dashing Montr\u00e9al hopes and sending the Union into ecstatic celebrations. The Boys in Blue have finally won a game.<\/p>\n
3 Points<\/p>\n
Curse-Breaker: The Union were finally able to snap their losing streak, picking up their first win and points of the season. The comeback result means Philly is out of the basement, for this week at least.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Use Your Head: Both Philly goals were finished, or set up by, headers from set-pieces. After weeks of poor play in that area, it was a good sign to see the Union find success there.<\/p>\n
Jes\u00fas has Risen: Fittingly, it being Easter-time, Jes\u00fas Bueno scored the winning goal to secure a Man of the Match performance. After 4 years with the team, he seems to be breaking into a starting role.<\/p>\n
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-2-2-2): Andre Blake (GK), Nathan Harriel, Olwethu Makhanya, Japhet Sery Larsen (Phillipe Ndinga 81\u2019), Frankie Westfield; Ben Bender (Ezekiel Alladoh 66\u2019\u00a0), Jes\u00fas Bueno, Jovan Luki\u0107, Indiana Vassilev (Cavan Sullivan 88\u2019), Bruno Damiani, Milan Iloski (Alejandro Bedoya 81\u2019).<\/p>\n
Substitutes not used:\u00a0Andrew Rick (GK), Geiner Martinez, Finn Sundstrom, Jeremy Rafanello, Malik Jakupovic\u00a0.<\/p>\n
CF Montr\u00e9al (4-2-3-1):\u00a0Thomas Gillier (GK), Luca Petrasso, Efra\u00edn Morales (Tomas Aviles 70\u2019),Brayan Vera, Dawid Bugaj, Matty Longstaff, Victor Loturi (Olger Escobar 82\u2019), Iv\u00e1n Jaime, Wiki Carmona (Fabian Herbers 37\u2019 [Kwadwo Opoku 82\u2019]), Dagur Thorhallsson (Hennadii Synchuk 70\u2019), Prince Owusu.<\/p>\n
Substitutes not used: S\u00e9bastian Breza (GK), Samuel Piette, Daniel Rios, Brandan Craig.<\/p>\n
Scoring Summary:<\/p>\n
MTL: Iv\u00e1n Jamie (Efrain Morales) \u2013 23\u2019<\/p>\n
PHI: Japhet Sery Larsen (Milan Iloski) \u2013 55\u2019<\/p>\n
PHI: Jes\u00fas Bueno (Ezekiel Alladoh) \u2013 70\u2019<\/p>\n
Disciplinary Summary:<\/p>\n
MTL: Thomas Gillier\u00a0 (Yellow) \u2013 22\u2019<\/p>\n
MTL: Prince Owusu (Yellow) \u2013 37\u2019<\/p>\n
MTL: Victor Louri (Yellow) \u2013 43\u2019<\/p>\n
PHI: Sery Larsen (Yellow) \u2013 45 +6\u2019<\/p>\n
PHI: Olwethu Makhanya (Yellow) \u2013 59\u2019<\/p>\n
PHI: Bruno Damiani (Yellow) \u2013 85\u2019<\/p>\n
PHI: Jovan Lukic (Yellow) \u2013 90 + 5\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union (1-0-6) battled back from a deficit to ultimately defeat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-597947","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}