Union Host Toronto FC In Key Match Saturday
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Union will be home on Saturday night for a critical match-up with Toronto FC.
The Union currently have 34 points (9-8-7 record) and that's good for fourth place in a very competitive Eastern Conference. Toronto currently sits in second place in the East with 37 points (10-7-7 record), one point behind first place NYCFC.
Philadelphia comes into this match fresh off one of its best performances of the season. Last Saturday, the Union rolled the New England Revolution, 4-0, up in Foxborough.
"I think what really helps is to get off to the start we did," Union defender Keegan Rosenberry tells KYW Newsradio about the win. "We scored so early (C.J. Sapong in the 2nd minute) and we were able to use that to energize us and to pressure defensively the way we want to. I think the challenge is, when we don't have that early goal, if we could still continue to play that same way, with the urgency we had."
Listen to the entire interview with the Union's Keegan Rosenberry:
The Union have added a couple of real quality players over the past couple of weeks in forward Charlie Davies and midfielder Alejandro Bedoya. The New England match marked the second appearance with the Union for Davies (he had an assist in the win) and it was Bedoya's debut with Philadelphia. Rosenberry says they are already comfortable playing with their two new teammates.
"Hopefully it was easy to see against New England," Rosenberry says. "They are top level players, so I think it's easier than other players for them to adjust and fit it. They're guys that are easy to play with. For us, it was fun to play with them all week and then leading up to the game, as well. Hopefully it looked just as fun as it was for us."
While the Union and Toronto are battling for position in the standings, this will actually be their first meeting this season on the pitch.
"It's going to be a difficult game," Rosenberry says. "I think we have the advantage being at home, but they have special players. We're going to have to do our best to limit the special players' impact on the game. I think people around the league have seen what they've done and that's always a challenge when you play teams like Toronto or New York City, to limit the impact that they have on the game and then continue to strive to do what we do well."
Saturday's match gets underway at 7:00pm.
