Halftime report: D.C. United 2, Philadelphia Union 0

The Philadelphia Union had almost two weeks to prepare for D.C. United. And while the Union had some decent moments in the first half, United was the better team by far and leads 2-0 at the break.

Lloyd Sam had the first decent chance at goal about four minutes in when he sent a curling shot in from the left flank that Andre Blake snagged easily.

Eight minutes in, Fabinho tested Bill Hamid with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box. Hamid slapped the ball to the turf, and D.C. was able to clear it out.

In the 11th minute, Ilsinho unleashed a long range blast that caught Bill Hamid wel off of his line. Unfortunately for the Union, the shot went just wide of the goal.

Disaster struck for the Union in the 17th minute, when Andre Blake kicked it to Fabinho, whose header went straight up into the air. Lloyd Sam was able to corral the errant header and crossed it to Jose Guillermo Ortiz, whose shot went off of Richie Marquez and in to the bottom corner of the net.

In the 21st minute, Ortiz almost scored again when a shot from the top of the 18 went off of the top of the bar. A minute later, Fabinho found Haris Medunjanin at the top of the 18, whose blast was tipped over by Hamid.

In the 25th minute, Luciano Acosta’s shot hit off of Richie Marquez’ arm in the box, and the referee whistled a penalty. Acosta’s shot went low and just past the reach of Andre Blake, to put United up 2-0 in the 26th minute.

After the second goal the Union tried pushing men forward, however D.C. always seemed to have men back. Jay Simpson was afforded no space, and any time a Union player got a touch he was swarmed by guys in black shirts. After a minute of stoppage the whistle sounded, mercifully bringing the half to an end.

D.C. United: Bill Hamid; Taylor Kemp, Bobby Boswell, Steve Birnbaum, Nick DeLeon; Ian Harkes, Marcelo Sarvas, Luciano Acosta; Patrick Nyarko, Jose Guillermo Ortiz, Lloyd Sam

Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake; Fabinho, Richie Marquez, Oguchi Onyewu, Keegan Rosenberry; Haris Medunjanin, Derrick Jones; Chris Pontius, Alejandro Bedoya, Ilsinho; Jay Simpson

Scoring: D.C. United - Jose Guillermo Ortiz (17’), Luciano Acosta (26’); Philadelphia - None

Disciplinary: D.C. United - None; Philadelphia - None