The Philadelphia Union survived some late heroics from the visiting Chicago Fire before winning the opening match of their first-round best-of-three MLS Cup Playoff series.

On Saturday, the Union will travel to Bridgeview, Ill., looking for a win to secure passage to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Philadelphia, the Supporters' Shield winners and the East's top seed, struck for a pair of goals five minutes apart on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the 75th minute.

But eighth-seeded Chicago scored twice in the closing minutes -- including a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer from former Union defender Jack Elliott -- to make it 2-2 before the Union won the subsequent penalty shootout.

"Credit to them. They gave us a really good game. I think they took some space late in the game and we gav

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