Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Philadelphia Union clinched Major League Soccer’s Supporters Shield on Saturday after a 1-0 victory over New York City FC saw them clinch the best record of the regular season. Danish striker Mikael Uhre scored the game’s only goal to spark wild celebrations in front of Philadelphia’s raucous Subaru Park home crowd. Uhre’s 40th minute strike after a sweeping counter-attack was all that separated the two teams in a tense duel which saw New York City threaten to snatch a late equaliser.
The victory means Philadelphia will enter the postseason as top seeds after assuring themselves of the league’s best record with one game to spare in the Eastern Conference. The result also marked a stunning achievement for Union’s South African coach Bradley Carnell, who only took over as Philadelphia coach in January. “It’s sweet, this has been building since match day one,” Carnell said afterwards. “These guys invested in the very beginning and they get rewarded today. You just have to tip your hat to everybody here at the club. It starts with the organisation, and goes all the way down, everyone pulling in the same direction. Just a fun, fun season.”
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The result marks a swift transformation for Philadelphia, who failed to reach the MLS Cup playoffs last season. “This is a winning team and it just needed to be refounded — the foundations just needed to be filed off and polished,” Carnell added.
Elsewhere in MLS on Saturday, Inter Miami returned to winning ways with a comprehensive 4-1 drubbing of the New England Revolution in Fort Lauderdale. Lionel Messi was at the heart of the Miami victory, providing the assists for three of Inter’s four goals, which were shared between Tadeo Allende and Jordi Alba. The result leaves Miami in third place with 59 points, seven adrift of Philadelphia who top the Eastern Conference with 66 points with one game of the regular season remaining.
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