NYCFC cannot stop Philadelphia Union from becoming Supporters' Shield winners | OneFootball

The last time New York City FC was in Chester to face the Philadelphia Union, the game went viral due to a raccoon that ran on the pitch and could not be caught right away. More importantly, the Pigeons won that match. They looked to do the same on Saturday, but the Union wanted to clinch the Supporters’ Shield in front of their fans. In the end, the Boys in Blue were unable to stop the Pennsylvania team, losing 1-0 in the final road match of the regular season.

Unquestionably, despite having success on the road this year with six wins entering the game, NYCFC knew it was going to be a challenge.  Sure, they won the opposite fixture, but there is a reason the home team has been at the top of Major League Soccer and was in contention to win the Shield.  The team turned things around since they missed the playoffs last year with improved play and a few new players.

Of course, NYCFC has also improved, but arguably, they were in a little more of a hole despite having a better season in 2024.  Pascal Jansen has been trying to change that in 2025, and they still have a chance to tie their most wins of 18, which was done in 2019.  Of course, the players would have loved to have done that against the Union.  Instead, they will have to wait.

Putting the result aside, this was an entertaining, back-and-forth match, which was full of action.  The high energy made it a battle that one could not look away from.

NYCFC falls to Philadelphia in final 2025 road game

The Boys in Blue had a brilliant opportunity to go up early in the second minute.  Alonso Martínez, who missed the Hudson River Derby win last week due to a quad injury, had an open goal in front of him after Andre Blake missed the ball after coming off his line.  However, he sent the ball wide in what should have been an easy goal.  Similar to some moments during the Inter Miami CF meeting, it was one of those attempts that fans could only wonder whether the miss would come back to bite NYCFC.

Eventually, that missed goal did come back to bite the Pigeons.  It took the entire first half, but Mikael Uhre put his side in front in the 40th minute.  Jovan Lukić stole the ball in the midfield and found the Danish player.  Uhre took a few steps in the right side of the box before shooting the ball.

Unfortunately, it bounced and deflected off of Raul Gustavo, making it impossible for Matt Freese to make the save.  Instead, it rolled into the goal, which all started due to a giveaway by NYCFC.  It was hard to confirm by the Apple broadcast, but it did appear that Andrés Perea was responsible.

After the 90 minutes played, it was clear that the Union was the stronger offensive side.  The team had 14 shots with five on target.  In complete honesty, they would have had two or three more goals if Freese was off his game in any form.  The NYCFC goalkeeper kept the Bronx team in the match; it was a shame that nobody could score after his performance and four saves.

They were not without chances either.  One of their best chances of the night, with the exception of the missed opportunity early on, was a shot by Hannes Wolf in the 20th minute.  The winger whipped the ball from right outside the box, and could have scored a beauty of a goal.  But Blake had other ideas, and swiftly reacted by stretching to his left to force the ball out of play.

The issue at hand was that many of their offensive opportunities lacked when it came to shots.  NYCFC had seven, with two on target.  The Philadelphia defense was very influential in limiting the shots.  At the same time, the Pigeons should have been more clinical in the final third.

Nevertheless, it was a loss, and now the Boys in Blue will not fully control their destiny in the Eastern Conference standings.  They will need to win on Decision Day, but since they fell to fifth place at this time, it depends on what the teams that are around them do in their final games.

Still, after a couple of seasons of poor road results, NYCFC can leave Philadelphia with some pride.  The team went 6-6-5 on the road, earning 23 points.  Sure, losing to the Union is never fun, but at least that is a positive everyone can take with the conclusion of the road fixtures.