CHESTER, Pa. -- With the match tied at one in the 90th minute, Tranquillo Barnetta lined up for a free kick just outside the Orlando City SC box.
With a flick of his right foot, the Swiss midfielder cleared the mass of bodies and stunned goalkeeper Joe Bendik. The shot picked the top right corner of the goal to give the Union a dramatic 2-1 win over previously undefeated Orlando City on Friday night at Talen Energy Stadium.
"I talked with Leo [Fernandes] and Fabian [Herbers] because they are lefties who could take it," Barnetta said. "I said let's wait to see where the keeper is positioned. I saw that [Bendik] was not comfortable because he couldn't see the ball, and I said I'll take it. I'm happy I could score like this."
So were the Union. With the win, the club jumps to 3-2-0 and temporarily lead the Eastern Conference with nine points. Meanwhile, Orlando City fell to 2-1-2.
"It's not every game you score in the 90th minute and hold on for a win in an exciting fashion like that," Union captain Brian Carroll said. "It feels great. Hopefully it propels us forward."
The game began and ended with Union excitement.
While the fans were still filing to their seats, the Union caught Orlando City sleepwalking in the second minute, when Keegan Rosenberry's cross was muffed by Rafael Ramos in the box. From there, C.J. Sapong cleaned up the mess for his third of the season and 1-0 Union lead.
"Luck is when opportunity meets preparation," Sapong said. "I was upset with myself that I wasn't in the right position for the first ball across. I felt like if I kept crashing the goal that anything could happen. It landed right at my feet and it was a perfect striker's goal."
But the feeling wouldn't last. In the 43rd minute, off a throw-in, Orlando charged into Union territory. With a quick snap, Kevin Molina made an impeccable cross box pass to Adrian Winter, who beat Rosenberry before tucking his shot past Andre Blake and inside the right post for the goal and 1-1 score at the half.
"It happened quick," Rosenberry said. "I'll be the first to say we could have done better on that play. It was a good touch by him, credit to him, it was a good finish."
It was an impressive combination for a team missing star forward Cyle Larin to injury and talented full back, Brek Shea, to suspension.
"They played with a lot of intensity, energy and we had to weather the storm," said Orlando coach Adrian Heath. "If we want to achieve what we want to achieve this season, we have to be better when we have the opportunity."
With the game still tied at one in the 63rd minute, Union manager Jim Curtin subtracted Sebastien Le Toux for forward Fabian Herbers and Roland Alberg for Barnetta. The Union moved to an aggressive 4-4-2, with Herbers and Sapong on the attack. The moves paid off.
"That's the mentality we want to have," Rosenberry said. "That we can press teams for 90 minutes and generate chances to win the game. That builds confidence, helps us play better and helps us get into a rhythm. We built that up and that's why the goal happened."
