CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union forward Jack McInerney scored the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute as the New England Revolution suffered a 1-0 loss on Saturday night at PPL Park.

McInerney nodded home his third career game-winning goal against the Revs in the late stages, getting on the end of Keon Daniel’s free kick at the back post. Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath made three saves to notch the shutout as the teams combined to register just five shots on target.

The Revs (7-17-8, 29 pts.) remain winless (0-4-3) in seven all-time meetings with the Union (10-15-6, 36 pts.), which has now won three of its past four matches.

Stephen McCarthy’s absence – sidelined with concussive-like symptoms – forced a shift on the Revolution’s backline as Darrius Barnes slid into the middle and Ryan Guy returned from international duty to start at right back. In the midfield, rookie Alec Purdie made his first career start after previously totaling just 33 minutes in four substitute appearances.

Philadelphia was bright early and particularly through McInerney, who looped a tight-angle effort over the crossbar in the seventh minute before lashing a low drive wide of the far post in the 11th minute when he’d been sent in alone.

Only the woodwork prevented the Revs from opening the scoring in the 29th minute. Diego Fagundez fought to wrestle the ball free to Jerry Bengtson and the Honduran forward found himself one-on-one with MacMath. Bengtson rounded MacMath but was forced to a difficult angle and could only direct his shot onto the near post.

The Revs were forced into making their first substitution in the 61st minute when A.J. Soares went off injured, leaving New England with only two healthy natural defenders. Guy covered the gap in central defense, while Purdie shifted to right back.

It was Cardenas who came on for Soares – slotting into a left midfield role – and he almost made his mark in the 70th minute. The Colombian raced onto a through ball but was slowed by the charging MacMath and a backtracking defender, eventually laying a pass off for Bengtson, whose shot was blocked.

McInerney made the breakthrough for Philadelphia in the 73rd minute when he notched his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Shuttleworth tried to claim Daniel’s free kick from the right corner, but the ball sailed out of his reach and found McInerney at the back post, where the 20-year-old powered home a header from less than a yard out.

Guy had the Revolution’s best chance to equalize when Juan Toja’s 85th-minute free kick found him open in the box, but his header was handled by MacMath. Any hopes of a late comeback were dashed shortly thereafter as Benny Feilhaber picked up a pair of quick yellow cards and was subsequently ejected.

The Revs will be off for the international break next weekend before returning to Gillette Stadium for their 2012 home finale as they’ll host the Chicago Fire on Saturday, Oct. 20.

New England Revolution at Philadelphia Union
October 6, 2012 – PPL Park (Chester, Pa.)
Philadelphia Union 1, New England Revolution 0
Scoring Summary:

PHI – Jack McInerney (Keon Daniel) 73

New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth, Kevin Alston, A.J. Soares (Fernando Cardenas 61), Darrius Barnes, Ryan Guy, Alec Purdie, Clyde Simms ©, Benny Feilhaber, Kelyn Rowe (Dimitry Imbongo 77), Diego Fagundez (Juan Toja 64), Jerry Bengtson

Substitutes Not Used: Matt Reis, Blair Gavin, Sainey Nyassi, Blake Brettschneider

STATS: Shots 12, Shots on Target 3, Corner Kicks 2, Saves 1, Fouls 14, Offsides 1, Passes (percentage) 350 (76.9%), Possession 45.2%

Philadelphia Union: Zac MacMath, Gabriel Farfan, Carlos Valdes, Amobi Okugo, Raymon Gaddis, Brian Carroll, Michael Lahoud (Antoine Hoppenot 61), Keon Daniel, Gabriel Gomez (Roger Torres 71), Michael Farfan, Jack McInerney (Chris Albright 81)

Substitutes Not Used: Chris Konopka, Freddy Adu, Zach Pfeffer, Chandler Hoffman

STATS: Shots 9, Shots on Target 2, Corner Kicks 3, Saves 3, Fouls 18, Offsides 2, Passes (percentage) 414 (82.9%), Possession 54.8%

* Note that all statistics are unofficial
Misconduct Summary:

NE – Clyde Simms (caution) 66

NE – Benny Feilhaber (caution) 86

NE – Ryan Guy (caution) 86

PHI – Gabriel Farfan (caution) 87

NE – Benny Feilhaber (ejection/second caution) 88

Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

Assistant Referees: Greg Barkey, C.J. Morgante

Fourth Official: Daniel Fitzgerald
Weather: Weather and 66 degrees

Attendance: 17,079

Team Records

New England Revolution: 7-17-8 (29 pts.)

Philadelphia Union: 10-15-6 (36 pts.)

GAME NOTES

•     Following a league-wide bye next weekend for the FIFA competition window, New England has two more games remaining in the 2012 season: Oct. 20 at home against Chicago and Oct. 27 at Montreal
•     With the loss, the Revs fell to 7-17-8 on the season and 1-13-2 on the road
•     The loss also moved the Revolution to 0-4-3 all-time against Philadelphia, including a 0-2-2 mark at PPL Park
•     Tonight’s 1-0 loss was the team’s 15th one-goal loss of the season and its seventh 1-0 loss on the year
•     Bobby Shuttleworth made his third consecutive start – and his fifth of the season – when he drew the starting nod in goal again
•     With his full 90 minutes, Bobby Shuttleworth moved into seventh place on the club’s goalkeeper minutes played list with 1,581 … tonight he surpassed Aidan Heaney who was in seventh place
•     Ryan Guy returned to action after missing last Saturday’s game in Houston while on international duty with Guam
•     Ryan Guy made his first start at right back when he lined up in the backline this evening
•     Ryan Guy played his sixth different position of the season when he shifted to center back in the 61st minute after A.J. Soares went off with a right knee injury
•     Alec Purdie made his first career start – and fifth career appearance – when he lined up at left midfield to start the game
•     Alec Purdie later made his professional debut at right back – the position he’s played most frequently with the Revs’ reserve squad – when he shifted back following A.J. Soares’ injury
•     Juan Toja made his fourth-consecutive substitute appearance when he came on in the 61st minute for Diego Fagundez
•     With his start tonight, Darrius Barnes remains the only active Revolution player who has played in all seven  matches against Philadelphia
•     With his 88th minute second yellow card and subsequent ejection, Benny Feilhaber will miss his the Revs’ next match on Oct. 20 while he serves his one-game suspension
•     Two of Bobby Shuttleworth’s three losses on the season have come against Philadelphia … he is now 1-3-1 on the season … he also suffered the loss in a 2-1 defeat at PPL Park on July 29
•     Following the game, Jerry Bengtson (Honduras) and Diego Fagundez (Uruguay Under-20s) were scheduled to depart the Revs and join up with their respective national teams for World Cup Qualifiers and training camp, respectively … neither will miss time with the with Revs as the team is off next Saturday
•     The Revolution’s 17 losses are the team’s most since 1999, when the team went 12-20 in the shootout era of MLS
•     The team suffered its 12th shutout of the season, establishing a new club record
•     Tonight’s game marked the first time Sainey Nyassi was among the 18 dressed players since Aug. 4 – a 1-0 loss at home to Kansas City