Philadelphia Comes Up Just Short Against United In Great Match

For one night, the Philadelphia Union were America's team.

One night before the much anticipated debut of Thierry Henry for the New York Red Bulls, a sellout crowd Lincoln Financial Field entered the stadium thinking they knew what was to happen: even without Wayne Rooney, Manchester United, one of the world's most storied clubs, would come to Philly and put on a scoring clinic with the likes of Macheda, Berbatov, Obertan, Giggs, and other well known Red Devils leading the way.

How mistaken they were.

The Union, playing it's first team, controlled the ball for much of the match against a strong, but obviously not full strength, Manchester United club.

The home team nearly went up before halftime, but Sebastian Le Toux's left footed one timer missed the far post by inches.

"Every second that ticks by," the commentator noticed, "the more confident the Union become." Boy, was it the truth.

Even without the always dangerous Le Toux in the second half, the Union continued to press and on more than one occasion nearly took the lead on Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

Of course, there was a sea of red throughout the stadium, but it wasn't long before those Americans supporting United could not help but start to get excited about the play of the Union.

Punch for punch, the Union stuck with United. The fans got their money's worth. Those watching at home were witnessing an unprecedented happening.

Unfortunately, the hopes of a possible win or draw were shattered with only twenty minutes left when Gabriel Obertan, widely comparted to Thierry Henry, broke through and put in a great through ball from Danny Welbeck to break the deadlock. It proved to be the difference as Manchester United held on for a narrow 1-0 defeat.

At the end of the match, the stadium went into an uproar, not just for Manchester United, but for the incredible performance of a first year team with very little experience playing in the largest game of its five month playing history.

When I say they were America's team, obviously I do not mean the way the Cowboys are in American football, more of a New Orleans Saints or Butler University type of America's team.

An unproven team, a team with only four wins and two draws in fourteen MLS matches this season, its first season, was able to exceed all expectations against a squad which included the names of Berbatov, Giggs, Evans, Fletcher, Macheda, Obertan, Rafael, etc. It may not have been a win, but it is a match they will remember for a long time.

Philadelphia's result is by far the most surprising of MLS vs. the world friendlies this season, but let's not forget the rest. New York has beaten both Santos (Brazil) and Juventus (Italy), a squad which had the likes of Amauri, Trezugeut, and del Piero. DC United knocked off an AC Milan (Italy) team, which included the likes of Ronaldinho, Pato, Inzaghi, and Seedorf, before Milan went on to defeat Chicago in a very exciting match 1-0. Seattle defeated Boca Juniors (Argentina), who along with Milan, have won more international titles than any other team in the world. Seattle also fell 1-0 to Celtic (Scotland) after a controversial red card to keeper Terry Boss.

Manchester United has two more games left in the United States. They play the Kanas City Wizards on Sunday before taking on Landon Donovan, Sebastian Le Toux, and the MLS All-Stars next Wednesday in Houston.