La Vie en Rouge: Philadelphia Union 0, Montreal Impact 2

The Philadelphia Union came to Montreal with hopes of three points, but those hopes were dashed at the Stade Saputo as L'Impact scored two brilliant goals en route to victory over the Union.

Montreal Impact got on the board first with a chip from Patrice Bernier to Andrew Wenger who headed it in near the right post past a helpless MacMath.

Zac MacMath made a big save in the 60th minute to keep the Union in the game. MacMath had himself a fine game tonight on the whole, as one could hardly pin fault on him for both of the Montreal Impact's goals.

In the 69th minute, Nelson Rivas was a bit miffed after some contact with Hopponet. So much so that Rivas Zidane'd Antoine Hoppenot earning himself a well-deserved red card.

Afterward, Jack McInerney came in to get back at Rivas and defend Hoppenot and in doing so earned himself a red card. While it is good to see McInerney want to defend his teammate, he absolutely has to show some restraint there.

It mattered little that the decision to give McInerney a red card was a questionable one at best. The headbutt from Rivas was blatant, and McInerney has to expect the official will show Rivas the red card (which the official did). There is absolutely no logical reason for McInerney to push Rivas.

It was imperative to realize the forthcoming 11 v. 10 advantage the Union would have while down a goal, and not do anything to jeopardize it. Unfortunately, McInerney pushed Rivas, the Union lost McInerney resulting in 10-on-10 for the final 20 minutes.

Both Rivas and McInerney will be suspended for their respective upcoming match. Given the severity of his headbutt, it is a real possibility that MLS will ban Rivas for longer than one match. McInerney will likely see only a one match ban.

The 10-on-10 ultimately ended up favoring the home side as the Impact put it away in the 79th minute with a fine goal from Felipe. The Brazilian's goal served as a dagger to the Union's hopes of earning a point on the road. Both goals from the Montreal Impact were the results of sublime finishing on the part of the home side.

The Union would not mount much of a threat in the final minutes, and the Impact walked away with a 2-0 victory.

The Philadelphia Union's next fixture will be played next Sunday at 7:00 at PPL Park against Chicago Fire Soccer Club, in a game that could very well spell the end of the Union's playoff chase should they not earn at least a point.