CHESTER, Pa. – Watching the Philadelphia Union through two MLS matches, you’d have no problem believing that they parted ways with their two leading scorers and top chance creator from last season. And that’s just the start of the problems. The Union were bailed out by a soft penalty call conv erted by Indiana Vassilev, but after an Olwethu Makhanya red card, they allowed Tayvon Gray to score in the ninth minute of added time for a 2-1 loss to New York City FC Sunday. The home opener looked a lot like last year’s playoff ouster through 80 minutes. NYCFC went ahead with a superior first half, this time a 37th-minute goal from Hannes Wolfe. The Union failed to create chances, many of them falling to a right back who couldn’t finish. It was Frankie Westfield playing up into midfield in the playoff game last year; Nate Harriel, who was otherwise great, played the role Sunday. That changed when substitute forward Stas Korzienowski went down under the lightest of pressure in the box. Vassilev scored past Matt Freese in the 89th minute to even the gae. But Makhanya was sent off in the second minute of stoppage time by referee Chris Penso, his second yellow card for dissent. It’s the second red card for the Union in as many games. That left no one to pressure the cross of Agustin Ojeda and no one to mark the run of Gray, pumping a header past Andre Blake. New York City deserved to be up one at half. The visitors had 59 percent possession, with seven shots, five on target, in the opening 45 minutes. Ojeda hit the post in the 26th minute after Keaton Parks slipped him in. Andre Blake punched away a Kevin O’Toole header off a corner in the 29th. O’Toole was denied in the 34th when Nico Fernandez and Ojeda sprung him. The goal in the 37th was overdue. Fernandez kept it himself instead of playing in Wolfe 2-v-2. That was fine, since his shot tested Blake, who could only parry it right into the path of Wolfe to bury the goal. The Union finally warmed to the game in the second half, but it took Korzienowski to sub in for Agustin Anello, playing for the suspended Ezekiel Alladoh, to force the issue. He deflected a shot on target minutes after entering, then went down under pressure from Thiago Martins in the 86th to draw the PK. Blake was excellent with eight saves. In an echo of last year, he stopped Seymour Reid on a breakaway at 1-0 that would’ve put the game away. ...read more read less