Thanks to Liam McMahon for the preview tonight and this is Jordan Wohl signing off. Be sure to follow @VAVEL_UNION for more union news
Well that is about it from PPL tonight, be sure to stick around for the postgame recap.
Ayuk with the crazy amount of backflips in front of the The River End
The Union had this one from the start as they really played this one throughout
FULL TIME AND THE UNION WILL HEAD TO THE OPEN CUP FINALS!!!!
90+2': Very latee Chicago corner kick here
90'+1': Union counter leads to a throw in deep in Chicago territory
90'+1': Union contant to just clear it out of their zone
2 minutes of stoppage time
90': Union taking it in the corner and have the possession in the offensive half
88': Union concede a free kick in the defensive half in a dangerous position.
87': Throw in Chicago by midfield
85': Chicago's Cocis is cautioned as the Union get a free kick just over midfield
84': Another Chicago corner leads to nothing by a goal kick for the Union
83': Magic Mike Magee is yellow carded for dissent it looks like
82': Corner Kick Chicago. It crosses the goal but nothing is doing.
81': Not much going on yet, Chicago need to do something with only 10 minutes left in their open cup season
77': Chicago subsitute Polster out and Magic Mike Magee enters the game
74: GOAL GOAL GOAL! SEBASTIEN LE TOUX WITH A GREAT INDIVIDUAL EFFORT FROMTHE TOP OF THE BOX SEES THE UNION AHEAD 1-0!
73': Union Goal Kick
71': Heres the sub for the Union: Barnetta out for Ayuk
69': Ayuk is being signaled over, looks to be heading into the game for Barnetta.
68': Maloney takes down Edu by the Union box. Free Kick Union
67': Chicago had a dangerous counter by Johnson hits the ball way over his player. Throw in Union
66': Great ball by Maidana finds Edu but Edu can't hit it home
65': Maidana taken out by Larentowicz. Free kick ont he right side of the field in a dangerous spot
64': Corner again doesnt lead to much
63': Union Corner Kick by Madiana
61': Barnetta fouled by the Union 18. Free Kick
59': Barnetta's shot is blocked at the top of the box! Great pass by sapong to find him
58': Chicago sub: Accam out, Johnson in
56': Barnetta fouls a Chicago player onthe right offensive side of the field. Cross in is cleared away by Marquez
55': Corner is headed by Edu but very wide for a Fire goal kick
54': Union corner kick to be taken Maidana
52': Fire with some good offensive play but their shot goes out for a goal kick
51': Gaddis does well to get infront of Accam and get fouled near the Union 18
51': Corner leads to nothing but a Fire Goal Kick
50': Union corner kick to be taken by barnetta
Second Half has started!
Union have had 7 corners so far. they need to convert off them, not good enough to not put any of the 7 corners in
Fire need to do something on offense. had only a few legit opportunities
Union offense has had a ton of chances and Sapong has been out of his mind so far. Need to keep feeding him up top and the chances will come
Halftime as we are all square 0-0
1 minute of stoppage time
McCarthy claims the second ball easily off the corner
45': Accam tries to beat McCarthy near post but McCarthy delfects it for a Corner
44': Its played short and after some union possession, leads to nothing but a Fire Goal Kick
43': Gaddis earns another corner for the Union
41': Fire with some better offense recently but not much to really write about
39': Fire Corner Kick is cleared out and the secondary ball is collected by McCarthy
38': Sapong almost puts the Union ahead as he tries a backheel flick when all he really had to do is hit it with any part of his foot
35': Maidana almost through again but just offisdes again
35': Union Free Kick by midfield
30': Fabinho is given a yellow card for a push in the back on Accam. Not much he could do about that really.
29': Maidana corner deflected out. Another Union corner.
28':Union with all the offense right now as they gain another corner
26': Another Union Corner by Barnetta
24': CLOSE AGAIN FOR THE UNION. Maidana hits the post on a low driving shot from outside the 18 and Sapong cannot put the rebound in
23': Great ball by Barnetta but nobody home for it
22': Sapong is fouled, free kick Union with Barnetta over it for the in-swinger
22': Chicago sub: Gilberto off, Igboananike in
21': Gilberto is limping off the field. Edu tried to help him but the trainer comes and helps a visibly pain Gilberto off the field.
20': Richie Marquez heads a cross out of danger
18': CLOSE! Maidana slides it to Le Toux who crosses it and find barnetta who cannot finish it due to a block
14': Maidana is played through but is called offsides. Free Kick Chicago but it is kicked out of bound for a Union throw
13': Union goal kick
12': Lahoud trips up a Chicago midfielder for a free kick by midfield
11': An Edu volley is deflected for another corner
Corner is headed out by a Fire defender for another corner. Barnetta to take it.
10': Union Corner after good work by Maidana to force it
8': Barnetta with a great pass to Maidana, who rips it. Great Save by Johnson to parry it alive
Fire have a decent section of 40-50 fans and they are pretty loud. Sons of Ben have almost filled The River End.
5': Not much going on really yet. The ball is being passed back and forth between both teams. Not much possession for either team
3': Goal Kick Union
Kickoff!
Maidana will need to be the cog for the Union in the counter.
Gaddis matched up with Fire's leading goal scorer David Accam will be a matchup the Union need to win if they want to advance.
So Barnetta will start on the wing for the Union and Maidana on the 10. We will have to see how he can do there. Hes only has average speed
We're here and only less than one hour from kickoff! Keep following here to be up to date on the game.
It's not just the management who are thrilled by the prospect of this match. Striker Mike Magee, who has come up big already in this competition for the Fire, cannot wait for the match to kick off. “It’s massive and the biggest game since I’ve been here,” Magee told MLSsoccer.com. “I’ve been on clubs where it wasn’t as important and when I got here I might have been a little skeptical to what was really going on, but after speaking to the fans and the club, guys that have been here and played here, it’s everything, it’s huge. To continue that and knowing where we are at in the table only makes it that much more important. To play a cup final at home is a dream so we have to take advantage of it.”
The entire Chicago club recognize just how big the opportunity is, and manager Frank Yallop confirmed that in his prematch press conference, saying: “It will be everything if we can get through this game and host the final, you can’t ask for more. So we’re hoping that we can get through this game Wednesday with a great result, we’re desperate to win it, that’s for sure. I’ve just been talking to Jeff Larentowicz and he’s like ‘this is it, this is the one’.”
However, should they win tonight, they will get to host the 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final at the end of September against the winner of the Real Salt Lake/Sporting Kansas City semifinal, which is also being contested this evening.
While the draw could not have been any kinder to Chicago, they do have to go and win on the road, something they haven't done since last season. Chicago is winless away from home since last season, losing 15 and drawing four of their last 19 away matches.
Chicago do appear to have put all their eggs in this basket this season, much as they did last term. In 2014, when they finished ninth in the Eastern Conference, they advanced to the Semifinal stage where they were dumped out unceremoniously by the Seattle Sounders. Yet, the draw has been much kinder to them this year, as they have drawn the Philadelphia Union in the semifinal. The Union sit just one place above the Fire in the Eastern Conference with only one more point, and look about as likely to win the MLS Cup this term.
While there still is every possibility that Chicago will make the playoffs and go on an improbable run to win the MLS Cup this winter, that prospect looks increasingly unlikely by the day. They sit at the foot of the Eastern Conference table with the worst record in MLS, having picked up just 22 points from 22 matches played.
While Seattle will not be able to equal the mark set by Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles this season, the Chicago Fire can. Chicago, who have traveled to Philadelphia for this evening's match, have won the Open Cup on four occasions (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006). Having won the trophy four times during their first nine years of existence, Chicago would not have expected to endure such a long trophy drought as they are right now. However, that US Open Cup title won in 2006 was the last time they lifted a major trophy. Winning the Open Cup this year is likely the only chance they have of ending that title drought this season.
Over the last seven years, it has occasionally felt as though the Open Cup would never leave Seattle. The Sounders won the trophy in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014. However, they will not win it this year after they crashed out early on at the hands of the Portland Timbers in one of the more shocking moments this tournament has ever seen.
In the modern era, no MLS club has managed to equal the mark set by Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles. However, two clubs have come close to doing so, one of whom is playing in this evening's match.
The first US Open Challenge Cup was contested throughout the year of 1913 and into 1914, where Brooklyn Field Club were crowned champions after beating Brooklyn Celtic. The following year, Celtic would again find themselves in the final where they were undone by Bethlehem Steel, one of the early powerhouses of American association football. For the next several years, Bethlehem Steel remained at the top of the American game, and were either champions or runners up every year until 1919. From 1915-1919, the Cup found itself in either Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, or Fall River, Massachusetts, as the two teams traded it back and forth, with Bethlehem Steel victorious four times and the Fall River Rovers winning it once while appearing in three finals. Steel would go on to win the trophy a fifth time, in 1926. That mark of five trophies is only equaled by one other club, Maccabi Los Angeles.
Nowadays, both the Supporters' Shield (given to the MLS club with the most points during the regular season) and the MLS Cup are more sought after than the Open Cup. However, this is a tournament steeped in history, which deserves far more play than it gets. For further reading on this, check out this piece done by VAVEL USA Co-Soccer Editor Liam McMahon.
Although it is rarely, if ever, given the amount of attention it deserves, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in the United States. This season is the 102nd time that the Cup has been contested.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of this evening's 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Semifinal between the visiting Chicago Fire and the Philadelphia Union. My name is Jordan Wohl, and it is my pleasure to be taking you all through this most important of matches. We have plenty of time until kick-off, so sit back, relax, and allow me to walk you through the lead-up to this match.