Chester — On a warm and sunny afternoon where the Philadelphia Union needed a spark to rebound after two straight tough losses, they got it thanks to a 70th-minute goal from Bruno Damiani and Andre Blake picking up his sixth clean sheet of the season in the Union’s 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution. The result moved the Union to 60 points on the season for only the second time in franchise history.

“A clean sheet after 97 minutes is exactly what the doctor ordered,” said Union head coach Bradley Carnell after the match. “To score the goal in the fashion that we did. Football is, you know, about emotions and passions, and you’re dealing with human beings, and we’re not robots, and you’re just seeing a struggle through a phase now, and even in the second half against Nashville, starting to come out of it. And today, it was a bit of a grind and good teams learn how to grind and get the result.”

The starting eleven for Bradley Carnell mirrored Philadelphia’s lineup on Tuesday, with a few notable exceptions.

Andre Blake returned to the starting lineup after Carnell had said he was a game-time decision at Thursday’s press conference. Blake made his first start since suffering a hamstring injury on August 16 in Harrison, New Jersey.

On the day, the Jamaican keeper had only one save in the box score, but it was his leadership in a tight, grind-it-out match that shone through for Carnell.

“I just loved the moment when, in the 94th minute, they get a half chance against the run of play, not to save but just the way he ignites energy,” he said. “And I think that’s just through experience, right? So, and that’s what I liked. I thought he had a very quiet game, not much to do, we limited them to, I think, .5 XG on the night, or whatever it was, but just to psychologically for the rest of the group, you know, get over the bump.”

“He’s a three time MLS Goal Keeper of the year for a reason”, said Indiana Vassilev post match. “He’s unreal, he’s immense. We have full trust in him. I mean, it’s a big boost. It’s great having him back there.”

With both Jovan Lukic and Olwethu Makhanya serving suspensions, Jesús Bueno and Nathan Harriel started at defensive midfield and center back, respectively.

Frankie Westfield made his final start before departing for Chile to join the U.S. U-20 National Team for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Should the U.S. advance to the final, Saturday’s match would be the last time Westfield played in the 2025 MLS regular season, as the final is set for October 19.

Philadelphia, like in their two previous matches, looked a little slow out of the gate, not creating many opportunities against a New England side that also struggled to generate chances. Yet it was Philadelphia that could not seem to get anything started offensively.

Just like last week, through 30 minutes the Union had yet to register a shot on net, despite Tai Baribo having a shot blocked inside the box and a cross from Quinn Sullivan that Indiana Vassilev tried to flick on but was blocked. Overall, through the last three matches, the creation has just not been there like it was earlier in the season.

However, a cross by Bruno Damiani found the head of Frankie Westfield, which at first seemed to sneak up on New England goalkeeper Matt Turner. The attempt was easily saved, and moments later Tai Baribo had a break-in on goal but skied his shot over the net.

Philadelphia came out with much more vigor in the second half with their press and organization, resembling the squad fans had grown accustomed to over the first 30 or so matches this year.

“The halftime chat was all about showing where space is and where space was”, said Carnell when asked about the halftime adjustments. “In the first half, it didn’t change, and we felt that we executed that much better in the second half, and we gained control and kind of tightened the screw on the game, and we were able to dictate the tempo and the rhythm of the game. So for that, I’m proud of the boys.”

Danley Jean Jacques came off for Milan Iloski as Carnell’s first substitution, moving Vassilev back to the defensive mid spot.

As for why Carnell chose to bring on Milan and move Vassilev back defensively, it came down to how the coach was not happy with how his team was playing the ball back too often in the first half.

“I want us to be brave, vertical, relentless, and fearless. Especially, sometimes, you have to will your way and force your way to success and and this is what I wanted”, he said.

The Union struck in the 70th minute thanks to Frankie Westfield, who linked with Milan Iloski to find Damiani for his sixth goal of the season on a wonderful build-up and combination from the home side to put the Union up 1-0.

“It’s good to have a guy who just came and feel that comfortable with the team”, said Bruno Damiani in regards to the impact Iloski has made off the bench this season. “So I think it’s his second assist he gave me. I’m very happy to understand how he plays and feel comfortable with him in terms of when he is on the field.”

A red card was shown to New England’s Peyton Miller in the 75th minute for unsportsmanlike conduct after he fouled Quinn Sullivan and then threw the ball at Tai Baribo in frustration after the striker bumped into him. Baribo picked up a yellow card during the altercation, which will force him to miss the D.C. United match next Saturday due to yellow card accumulation. As for the reason for the yellow, Carnell mentioned he was not sure as he had not yet reviewed the play following the match.

Mikel Uhre, Chris Donovan, and Jeremy Rafanello came into the match for Philadelphia heading into the final stretch. These changes from Carnell and staff, along with the home crowd, brought energy to the squad. One could see that the goal gave players a renewed sense of belief as opportunities began to open up that were not there in the first half.

Donovan had a chance to seal the match in stoppage time with a break-in on goal, but his attempt left much to be desired as he appeared to mishit the kick.

New England had one last chance to draw level after Blake had to make a surprise save on a shot that could have spelled disaster. The veteran keeper stood tall.

Carles Gil’s corner attempt was cleared by the Union back line, and the final whistle signaled Philadelphia’s 11th home victory of 2025, just one shy of the 2022 squad’s 12 home wins.

“I think everybody has that license on the field and yeah won 1-0”, said Indiana Vassilev. “I don’t think we played our best game going forward, attacking wise, defensively, I think we kept it pretty solid going forward. I don’t believe we played our best game. But it’s kind of getting to that nitty gritty at the end of the season where you just got to win games, you have to find a way to win games, and we won today. So we got three games left. It’s in our hands.”

The match went a long way toward keeping Philadelphia’s Supporters’ Shield hopes alive with 60 points and three matches remaining in the regular season, while also boosting their confidence after last week’s struggles.

And while some might still worry about the fact that Philadelphia has scored more than one goal just twice in their last seven matches in all competitions, Vassilev remains confident this club will turn it around heading into the playoffs.

“We just need to get more of those moments, which we can”, he said when talking about creating scoring opportunities. “I think we can. I think we can consistently get more of those moments. We just need to be better at getting into those situations.”

“And listen, the goals will come. I think we’re, you know, I don’t know our exact record, but I’m almost positive for one of the way we’re top five or top seven, highest goal scores in the league. The goals are there. The goals will come. We’ve had a little bit of a rough patch about it now, but that’s what our defense is, to step up and keep clean sheets.”

So while this afternoon’s result will ensure Carnell and company end the matchday still on top of the table, they know there is still work to be done heading into the final three matches of the season. There is still opportunity to grow and improve, but today was a step in the right direction.

They will look to continue improving next Saturday as they head down Interstate 95 to Audi Field to take on D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. in another chance to show they are still one of the best teams in MLS heading into the playoffs.

Main photo article courtesy of the Philadelphia Union