FC Cincinnati continued their impressive start to the season as the Orange and Blue defeated the Philadelphia Union 1-0 at TQL Stadium.
The only goal of the match was scored by Luciano Acosta as he converted from the penalty spot in the 69th minute to keep Cincinnati undefeated in four home matches this season.
The Orange and Blue remain undefeated on the season, one of two teams in MLS to do so while the Union are 10th in the East and are winless in three road matches this season.
Story of the match
Philadelphia manager Jim Curtin introduced a heavily rotated squad ahead of the CONCACAF Champions League with six new starters and a shift to a 3-5-2 formation.
Still playing their vaunted press, the Union turned up the pressure on 11 minutes as Leon Flach and Jesus Bueno combined to dispossess Marco Angulo with Flach then finding Chris Donovan, who shot just wide of the post.
The hosts then had long spells of possession as their defensive trio looked to get the ball into the center of the pitch. Angulo found some space, but his shot was blocked by Jakob Glesnes from outside the box.
Cincinnati were frustrated by the resolute Union defense, failing to break through in the middle as they failed to turn possession into chances. Passes were forced into Acosta in an attempt to change this.
A minute from halftime, the visitors forced a turnover as Glesnes stepped in front of Acosta, cut inside and curled a pass for Bueno. His flick was sent out wide by Nick Haagland and Donovan earned a corner that came to nothing.
The first good chance of the second half came the way of the visitors as Nathan Harriel played a direct ball over the top to Donovan, who chested down and fed Quinn Sullivan, his box out setting up a pass for Bueno, but the Venezuelan fired wide.
Pat Noonan made a tactical adjustment as the Orange and Blue manager dropped Acosta and Brenner deeper to get them more on the ball against Philadelphia's defensive shape.
In the 57th minute, Santiago Arias found some space on the left and he got in behind, cutting a cross into the middle of the box that Olivier Mbaizo was able to clear.
On the hour mark, Curtin made a triple change, bringing on usual starters Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag and Alejandro Bedoya for Donovan, Sullivan and Bueno.
The hosts maintained their attacking mentality and it paid off as Acosta, free to roam wherever he liked, finding Brandon Vazquez on a give-and-go. The Argentine chased the pass into the box following a deflection and he was fouled by goalkeeper Andre Blake.
Glesnes blocked the initial shot, but Brenner pounced to put home the rebound, but referee Ted Unkel waved the goal off and instead pointed to the spot for the contact between Acosta and Blake.
Despite guessing the right way, the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year was beaten as Acosta dispatched his penalty into the bottom left corner to give Cincinnati the lead.
With Jack McGlynn coming on in the 78th minute, the defending Eastern Conference champions returned to their usual 4-4-2 formation.
McGlynn made an immediate impact, sending a quick pass to Matt Real that set up a long-range shot from Harriel that was gathered in by Orange and Blue goalkeeper Roman Celentano.
Celentano preserved the victory for the hosts in the closing stages as after Gazdag and Bedoya combined outside the box that the latter fired along the ground, but Cincinnati's shot-stopper managed to keep it out.
Man of the match: Luciano Acosta
The Argentine showed why he's Cincinnati's best player, scoring the only goal of the match, was involved in the buildup to that, took advantage of the space he was given and posed a constant threat whether he was setting up teammates or having shots himself.