It shouldâ??ve been one of the Top 10 plays on ESPNâ??s SportsCenter.
Instead, it was a game changer. A momentum shifter, if you will. Except not in the way the Union would have expected.
In the 30th minute of Philadelphia’s match against Houston Saturday night, Keon Daniel lined up to hit a free kick from about 40 yards out. Daniel caught every inch of the ball as it sailed through the hands of Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall for looked to be the gameâ??s first goal.
Enter DOOP song, smoke from the River End…should’ve been a poignant moment.
Instead, the goal was disallowed by referee Mark Kadlecik.
And why?
â??When the ball was played, the Union player (Union defender Amobi Okugo) was judged to be offsides, so therefore he was penalized for being offsides on that play,â? Kadlecik said. â??The offsides player (Okugo) interfered with the keeper. It didnâ??t matter if it was physical or not. If they’re offsides, they are interfering with play.â?
Instead of Danielâ??s blast becoming fuel to stoke a three-point favor for the Union, it was Houston that would leave the Chester waterfront with the result, after a goal from forward Ricardo Clark gave the Dynamo a 1-0 win at PPL Park. With that said, the Union (10-10-9, 39 points) was leapfrogged in MLSâ?? play as Houston (11-10-7) sits fourth in the East with 40 points. Conversely, Philadelphia remains at 39 points with New England and Chicago on its coat tails.
In a match between the aforementioned pair also on Saturday, it was Chicago that defeated New England, 3-2, keeping the Union tied in points with the Fire for the fifth and final playoff spot although Chicago jumps ahead via goal differential (+1).
Daniel was unavailable for comment postgame, but Union manager John Hackworth had this to say:
â??This is a cruel game sometimes,â? said Hackworth. â??It just feels like in a lot of ways, we canâ??t catch a break.