CHESTER, Pa. — The crowd rose to its feet in the 87th minute hoping to exhale after a nervy half hour of play Wednesday night.
Cheering the loudest it had all night, the announced 14,805 people at Talen Energy Stadium celebrated as Borek Dockal confidently powered home a penalty kick to ensure the Philadelphia Union a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire.
Dockal recorded a goal and two assists for the second time in three games, as Philadelphia extended its unbeaten run to four games. The streak marks only the ninth time in club history the Union have had an unbeaten run of four games or more.
After a rather dull first 44 minutes, Ilsinho produced a brilliant piece of individual skill as he received a pass from Dockal on the right side of the field. The Brazilian juked past Fire star Bastian Schweinsteiger and had the ball placed in perfect shooting position when it deflected off Brandon Vincent.
As the ball rolled in front of him, Ilsinho unloaded and sent a screaming shot into the top left part of the net to hand the Union a one-goal advantage at halftime.
“I’m looking for that ball for the entire 45 minutes, and I had one chance in the final minute and I’m so glad to score,” Ilsinho said.
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“It gave us a boost, especially when the game is very tight,” Union midfielder Haris Medunjanin said. “[The Fire] put all the men behind. They didn’t want to play football tonight. They just wanted to play long balls and defend and irritate us in the field. After Ilsinho scored, they needed to open themselves and after that you had a lot of chances. If you hold the ball a little more, we had more chances.”
It didn’t take long for the Union to extend their lead to two goals. Cory Burke headed home a terrific curling cross from Dockal, firing it past Chicago goalkeeper Patrick McLain in the 51st minute.
“Borek set up two goals and scored a goal. So overall for him, made some real difference-making plays,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “You can see his quality and his ability to pick out a cross. Obviously good for Cory, too, to make a good, hard run in the box and get on the end of it.”
The Fire matched the second Union strike with a tally of their own five minutes later. Alan Gordon scored for the second consecutive game by way of a tap-in from close range off a Brandt Bronico pass. The assist was the first of Bronico’s MLS career.
Chicago threatened to score an equalizer on multiple occasions in the second half, with Luis Solignac’s close-range attempt and Gordon’s diving header being the best opportunities.
Jim Curtin’s side almost scored a third in the 82nd minute, when Medunjanin chipped the ball in the direction of Burke. But Burke was unable to properly connect.
The hunt for the third goal came to conclusion in the 87th minute, when Burke was fouled on the right side of the box. Dockal demanded to take the ensuing penalty kick, which came one game after C.J. Sapong missed from the spot against the New York Red Bulls, and banged it into the middle of the goal to finish off the victory.
The Union are in the middle of a four-game unbeaten streak heading into Saturday’s trip to Atlanta United, but the team knows it can play much better.
“It can always be better,” Dockal said. “I feel that it can be better, definitely, my performance and the team performance as well.”