Philadelphia Union played their first game in the post Peter Nowak era when they were beaten 1-0 by DC United on the weekend.

The Union sacked Nowak last week, replacing him with John Hackworth, and even though Chris Pontius' 77th minute contributed to a first defeat for the new regime, the Philly players were remaining positive.

"It's exciting," Union defender Sheanon Williams told MLSsoccer.com.

"There's new energy in the locker room and we're ready to move forward. We know we have a lot of potential in this locker room. We can definitely get results. You could see it tonight.

"Even though we didn't get three points, we sent a message to everyone else that we can play."

And Hackworth was delighted with the atmosphere of the PPL Park crowd and despite the defeat was maintaining a very optimistic outlook.

"What a great day all the way around," Hackworth said. "The fans were fantastic; the players were awesome beforehand. It was a great night for the Philadelphia Union in a lot of ways."

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