New York City FC couldn't play spoiler in delaying the Philadelphia Union's Supporters Shield celebrations, losing 1-0 at Subaru Park on Saturday night.
NYCFC couldn't extend its club record four consecutive road wins to five, dropping to Fifth Place in the Eastern Conference with one game to play in the regular season.
Here are three thoughts on tonight's loss in Chester, Pennsylvania.
1. Early Union onslaught while NYCFC miss chances
NYCFC should've taken a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
Kevin O'Toole played a great through ball to Hannes Wolf, who poked it forward to Alonso Martínez. The Costa Rican dribbled around Andre Blake, but put his shot just wide of the top corner.
From there, it was all Philadelphia. Matt Freese was called upon several times, including when he made a great save to deny Bruno Damiani off a free kick.
Matt Freese with a great save against his former team | Courtesy New York City FC
But New York City, against the run of play, had two good chances, both from Hannes Wolf. The Austrian's first shot came from the top of the box, which Blake parried away.
His second chance, which came in the 33rd minute, was a brutal miss. Olwethu Makhanya tried to clear away O'Toole's cross, but his heavy touch fell right to Wolf, who skied his shot from point-blank range over the bar.
NYCFC would end up ruing those three misses.
Philadelphia took the lead in the 40th minute, a goal that felt inevitable given the amount of pressure it put on New York City's backline. Jovan Lukić won the ball in midfield and found Mikael Uhre at the top of the box, whose shot deflected off Raul Gustavo and past Freese for his sixth goal of the season and third-ever against NYCFC.
Mikael Uhre scores his sixth goal of the season | Courtesy MLS
New York City trailed 1-0 at halftime, but only had itself to blame — Martínez and Wolf should've scored, while Freese made two big saves to keep it a one-goal game.
2. NYCFC's quiet attack
With NYCFC struggling to build on its three first-half shots, Head Coach Pascal Jansen made some attacking substitutions in the 59th minute, bringing on Agustín Ojeda and Mitja Ilenič for Martínez and Tayvon Gray, respectively.
It took until the 69th minute for New York City to attempt a shot in the second half — a tame effort from Ojeda which was placed right at Blake.
Jansen then brought on Julián Fernández, who scored the game-winning goal against the Columbus Crew off the bench, for Wolf in the 78th minute.
Máximo Carrizo was the last one to come on and instantly put the ball in the back of the net, but the 17-year-old was called offside.
NYCFC didn't create enough chances and was blanked for a 10th time this season.
Martínez, coming back from a quad injury, should've gotten on the score sheet and ultimately had a rare quiet night. Wolf lacked his usual prowess when it came to being at the right place at the right time and taking advantage.
3. Undefeated road run comes to an end
Entering tonight’s game, New York City was on a club-record four-game winning streak on the road and undefeated in its last six, tied for the longest road unbeaten streak in club history.
It ended at Subaru Park, but it's still a commendable run, considering NYCFC started the season with just one win in their first 10 road matches.
New York City will close out the regular season against Seattle Sounders FC at Citi Field on October 18, when they’ll look to nail down home-field advantage in Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
