CHESTER, Pa. — Przemyslaw Frankowski scored in the 10th minute, but the Philadelphia Union netted the equalizer on a free kick and the Fire, with 10 men for more than 60 minutes, hung on a for a 1-1 draw Sunday.
“I’m proud of what they have done because it’s not easy, the situation where we are, where last week the results didn’t come and then you’re coming here and you’re winning 1-0,” Fire coach Raphael Wicky said. “And then you go down a man and immediately concede the draw, the 1-1, so great reaction, and that’s something I think everyone showed a lot of character.”
Kai Wagner tied it in the 36th minute after the Fire’s Wyatt Omsberg received a red card for contact with Cory Burke. Alejandro Bedoya had made a leading pass to Burke, who was battling Omsberg. When the two came together, Burke was sent into Fire goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, leaving all three worse for wear atop the box.
After a video review, the referee ruled that Omsberg’s foul was worthy of a red card, and the Fire lost him for the rest of game. On the free kick, the Fire (3-9-4) set up a wall, with Fabian Herbers lying behind it. But Wagner whizzed the ball under the jumping Fire players as Herbers rolled away to tie the game.
“I have seen it once. Look, I cannot say much,” Wicky said on the red card issued to Omsberg. “I mean, look, we have VAR. If they review it on VAR with slow motion, with a lot of people, and they think it’s a red card, we need to trust them that it’s a red card.”
The Union (6-4-7) put the pressure on in the second half, which included more than 10 minutes of stoppage time. But the Fire held them off to earn their first road point of the season.
Shuttleworth made four saves, including an excellent diving stop on Jose Martinez’s shot in the 79th minute and a close-range save on Bedoya’s chance in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.
