Goals from Sebastien Le Toux and Davy Arnaud on either side of halftime were the decisive tallies in a tightly contested 1-1 draw Saturday between the Philadelphia Union and Kansas City Wizards.
Le Toux notched his 10th goal of the season in the early going, while Arnaud was able to sneak a well-placed free kick by Union goalkeeper Chris Seitz in the 71st for the equalizer. The Wizards (7-9-6) are now 4-1-3 in their last eight matches while scrapping to earn a playoff berth, and the Union are 5-11-6 overall.
Le Toux continued his magical season for the Union in the 33rd minute, but most of the dirty work on his latest tally went to his teammates. Midfielder Justin Mapp played a deep through ball to an onrushing Danny Mwanga, who continued an unmarked run into the box and then slid a pass to his right to Le Toux, who placed the ball home for the 1-0 lead.
That goal stood up until the veteran Arnaud struck after the break for his fourth goal of the season. He curled a right-footed free kick from wide of the penalty box and over the outstretched hands of Seitz, who looked better prepared for Arnaud to cross the ball instead of going directly on goal for the decisive tally.
Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen earned just as much credit for the Wizards’ latest success on the road, where they’re 2-1-2 in their last five matches away from the heartland. The Danish net minder denied genuine scoring chances for both Mapp and Mwanga, and made one of two huge saves on Le Toux with a gorgeous sprawling stop on the Frenchman’s flick attempt in the 66th minute to help preserve the result.
The Union also went begging thanks to an unlucky bounce off the post in the 26th minute. Midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi saw his shot get deflected and crack off the post, narrowly denying him his first goal of the season.
Philadelphia will welcome the Chicago Fire to PPL Park next weekend, while the Wizards are off until Sept. 19, when they’ll travel to the Home Depot Center to take on Chivas USA.
Scoring Summary:
PHI – Sebastien Le Toux 10 (Danny Mwanga 4) 33’
KC – Davy Arnaud 4 (Unassisted) 71’
Misconduct Summary:
KC -- Roger Espinoza (caution; Reckless Foul) 64
PHI -- Michael Orozco Fiscal (caution; Reckless Foul) 71
Kansas City Wizards -- Jimmy Nielsen, Michael Harrington, Jimmy Conrad,Shavar Thomas (Jonathan Leathers 65), Roger Espinoza, Davy Arnaud, Craig Rocastle, Teal Bunbury, Stephane Auvray (Josh Wolff 61), Ryan Smith, Birahim Diop (Jack Jewsbury 74).
Substitutes Not Used: Korede Aiyegbusi, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, Eric Kronberg.
Philadelphia Union -- Chris Seitz, Michael Orozco Fiscal, Danny Califf, Juan Diego Gonzalez, Jordan Harvey, Andrew Jacobson (Jack McInerney 73), Stefani Miglioranzi (Roger Torres 46), Amobi Okugo, Justin Mapp (Alejandro Moreno 82), Danny Mwanga, Sebastien Le Toux.
Substitutes Not Used: Cristian Arrieta, Kyle Nakazawa, Brad Knighton, Sheanon Williams.
Referee: Ramon Hernandez
Referee's Assistants: Cameron Blair; Thomas Supple
4th Official: Jeff Gontarek
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Clear-and-85-degrees
Attendance: 17,182
