Union come up empty in 2-0 loss vs. Montreal

MONTREAL -- Andrew Wenger headed in a goal just before halftime and Felipe Martins added another for the Montreal Impact in a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union.

The Impact (9-13-3), who are 8-3-2 at home, opened a seven-point lead on eighth-place Philadelphia (7-11-2) in the Eastern conference, although the Union hold five games in hand.

Both clubs played the final 21 minutes with 10 men after Montreal's Nelson Rivas and forward Jack McInerney were shown red cards after a shoving match.

The Impact's win avenged a 2-1 loss in Philadelphia on July 14 on Carlos Valdes' goal in stoppage time. It was Montreal's second victory in a row after a 3-1 decision over New York a week earlier.

Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and the team got its first clean sheet since a 2-0 win at Kansas City on May 5, and only its third of the season.

Wenger started at forward in place of veteran Marco Di Vaio, who's in Italy dealing with legal troubles in a match-fixing scandal. The top pick in the SuperDraft seized the chance to score his fourth goal of the season.

The Union missed two prime chances in the first half as Lionard Pajoy hit a post and Jack McInerney was stopped from in close off a corner kick.

Montreal got a goal just before the intermission.

Justin Mapp played a corner kick back to Patrice Bernier, who chipped the ball into the middle for Wenger to make a leaping header that pushed the ball over Zac MacMath and under the crossbar.

Martins struck in the 79th minute, thrusting forward to head in Hassoun Camara's cross.

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