Ghana’s David Accam scored a 94th minute winner for Philadelphia Union as they beat Chicago Union 4-3 at the Toyota Park in Chicago in an MLS Regular Season match played on Wednesday.
The match was heading for a 3-3 draw after Haris Medunjanin and Cory Burke had scored for Union while Nemanja Nikolic, Aleksandr Katai and Bastian Schweinsteiger found the net for the home side, Fire.
But Accam managed to fire home from just inside the penalty box to give the Union a win on the road.
On a more personal level, the goal was his first of the season and it came against his former side with whom he spent three seasons.
After the match, Accam said he was very pleased to get his first goal for the Union after making 17 appearances (10 starts and 7 substitute appearances).
“I think every last-minute winner is amazing. It was also my first goal this season. For me, I’ve worked really hard and I think this goal will rank high in my career. I needed this to get going. For me, I’m so happy to get this.”
Union head coach Jim Curtin was full of praise for Accam for the goal and for his persistence despite his struggles this season.
“David did a lot of good things good even in the first 10 games of the year when he started; he just wasn’t on the scoresheet. For him to get a goal tonight was huge. I hope it’s a big boost for his confidence. … This is a big way to break out and I’m really happy for him. He stuck with things, worked hard in training to get back on the field and now puts in a performance where he gets the winner.”
In line with what has become something of a convention for players when they score against their former side, Accam did not celebrate extensively even though he took off his shirt and tossed it on the turf perhaps as a reflex reaction to his opening goal of the season.
He had lost his place in the team and only made an appearance against Chicago after his team-mate Ilsinho got injured on 17 minutes.
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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana
