Philadelphia Union Gets First Victory Against LA Galaxy: A Fan’s Reaction

Posted Saturday, July 07, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

On Wednesday, July 4, 2012, the Philadelphia Union traveled across the country to play the LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. The Union had never defeated the Galaxy in the four previous meetings but the Galaxy have not been playing at the same level as previous years. The Union have played better in 2011 but, with a new interim manager, the team seemed to be improving. Still, the game seemed like a long shot for fans of the Union.

Though the LA Galaxy got off to a good start, the team did not manage to get on the board. The Union, however, did manage to get on the board first in the game, and get the only goal of the first half. As time was expiring in the first, Jack McInerney got a goal for the Union. At approximately the halfway point of the second half, Chad Barrett got the LA Galaxy on the board. For most of the remainder of the game, it seemed that this would be a 1-1 tie. In the final moments, Michael Farfan managed to get one past the Galaxy goalkeeper and give the Union the victory with a score of 2-1.

In June of 2012, after a dismal performance for much of the year, manager Peter Nowak was fired and replaced, at least temporarily, by assistant John Hackworth. Hackworth then decided to replace two other staff members who were both connected to the former manager. The director of scouting and the youth technical director were replaced with assistants for now. With new staff members, it is starting to look like the team may be able to turn the season around. However, there may not be enough time for the Union to make the playoffs.

I was thrilled to see the team managed to take the victory just as time expired. Though a tie would have been good, a victory is fantastic. This is a major milestone for the team and hopefully it is a good indication of things to come for the team. Although the Galaxy are not one of the top teams this year, the victory was a major accomplishment and is bound to give the players some extra confidence. The fans are likely happy to see such a victory given the horrible start to the year.

Kristin Watt lives in central Pennsylvania and has no local major league sporting teams in the area. She has chosen to adopt Philadelphia's teams, including the Philadelphia Union, as her own home teams. Philadelphia is close enough to make a daytrip out of a game and still not have to get a hotel room.