Shorthanded Union fall to Red Bulls for 3rd-straight loss

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CHESTER, Pa. -- Playing down a man and working through heat that required league mandated water breaks, the Union valiantly battled but were unable to overcome the obstacles as they fell to the New York Red Bulls, 2-0, Sunday at Talen Energy Stadium.
 
“We were playing short for 30-plus minutes, it was tough,” said Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, who finished with one save. “It was a hot day, but we will not let this affect us. We have to bounce back.”
 
While the contest was marred by referee decisions, the loss was still the Union’s third straight, dropping their record to a near Eastern Conference-low, 4-7-4. On the other side, the victory was the Red Bulls’ second in their last seven matches as they move to 7-7-2.
 
“We’ve been here before in the beginning of the season,” said Union captain Haris Medunjanin referencing the Union’s four-game losing streak in March and April. “We lost a lot of games. Like I said before when you play with 10 men, it doesn’t matter who you play, it’s going to be difficult.” 
 
The match changed drastically in the 53rd minute. It was scoreless when Union midfielder Derrick Jones, playing for injured Alejandro Bedoya, received a straight red on what was interpreted as a studs-up midfield challenge on Felipe that sent the Red Bulls player screaming and grabbing at his ankle. 
 
“I just think it was a little bit rushed,” Curtin said. “I don’t think it warranted a red card. I think maybe a yellow. But again, he made a quick choice and we have to live with it.”
 
Although Felipe wasn’t injured and on replay, the tackle looked more clumsy than aggressive from Jones, the rookie put the Union at a disadvantage. From there, it was the Bradley Wright-Phillips show.
 
“Felipe is a guy we talked about all week in terms of a guy that can get under your skin and frustrate you,” Curtin said. “Don’t fall into any of the fighting or any of that. I think he may have baited the ref a little bit, made it look a little worse than it was. He’s drawn five red cards this season on opponents. Not a surprise there.”
 
Wright-Phillips broke through in the 87th minute when a Kemar Lawrence cross from left to right found the scorer on the inside of his defender and able to deflect the helper past Andre Blake. Wright-Phillips scored again in stoppage time, this time from Sal Zizzo to cement the 2-0 victory.
 
“Today I was dreadful,” Wright-Phillips said. “I was dreadful. I hear I was close to coming out of the game. I did think I would get a chance. I wanted to stay in for that because I didn’t do much else in the game.”
 
But the Union did have their chances early. While neither team was particularly sharp in the opening 45 minutes of the scorching Sunday contest, the Union were the more dangerous side. Their best chance came in the 22nd minute when Chris Pontius outplayed Damien Perrinelle on a bounce into the Red Bulls' box. The veteran attacker flicked a quick shot targeted for the far side that Luis Robles gloved away miraculously. 
 
Pontius nearly capitalized again off a Ray Gaddis play into the box but headed it wide to end the half.
 
“Chris had two really good looks,” Curtin said. “Robles makes the save and then the header before the half. Obviously, it would have been better to get one of those. We didn’t.” 

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