On the strength of two early goals, Stoke City ran out of PPL Park comfortable 2-0 winners over the Union. With the visitors still engaging in preseason training and the hosts returning from a cross-continental trip to Vancouver, both sides were content with a slow, plodding tempo, though Stoke were the sharper when it came to the final third.

Only 4 minutes into the match, Marc Muniesa set up Michael Kightly for a volleyed finish at the back post for winger Michael Kightly. Stoke continued to control the match and US international Brek Shea grabbed the second when Kightly turned provider, setting the table for Shea touch home.

Unfortunately for Stoke and plenty of American supporters in the crowd, manager Mark Hughes was forced to withdraw Shea after only 33 minutes. Union reserve fullback Matt Kassel did the damage with a crunching tackle and was lucky to stay on the field, with only a yellow card to his name.

First Half

New signing Oka Nikolov made his first appearance for the Union, backstopping a starting XI made up almost entirely of players who do not see regular minutes and had 11 starts on the season between them. Union head coach John Hackworth said after the game, “This was a good opportunity for us to give guys a run out and make sure that they have the sensations and rhythm of starting in a game. Everything from listening to the National Anthem, shaking hands [with the opposition] all those kinds of things are really important for players just so that they know how to prepare themselves.”

In defense, Fabinho and Kassel started outside of Chris Albright and Aaron Wheeler, who provided the match-winning assist as a forward in Vancouver. Both Michael Lahoud and Kleberson returned from injury to sit behind Roger Torres, while Leo Fernandes and Don Anding worked the flanks. Antoine Hoppenot was selected as a lone striker.

As if it were a training drill, Stoke confidently knocked the ball around as the Union fell back into a defensive shell. And by the fourth minute, the visitors were comfortably in the ascendancy.

With Kassel dropping off of Muniesa, the left back had plenty of time to loft his cross to Kightly, who came racing in from the right wing. Forgotten by Fabinho, Kightly smashed his first-time volley passed a helpless Nikolov to give Stoke the lead before the Union had managed more than a handful of touches.

The chances kept coming for Stoke when Wheeler lost track of Cameron Jerome’s run as the striker slid outside of the box, but his shot was wide of the mark. Jerome did better in the 15th minute after a mistake from Fabinho allowed Stoke to counter with numbers. But Nikolov held his ground at the near post, blocking Jerome’s shot with his right foot.

Minutes later, the Union defense again collapsed on itself and Stoke grabbed a second. Switching wings, Kightly ran at Kassel and when the defender retreated, he clipped the ball to the back post. Easily racing passed Fabinho, Shea had the simplest of tap-ins to give his team a commanding advantage.

Left on island up front, Hoppenot did his best to hold up play and won a number of fouls and corner kicks with his quick bursts in between Stoke’s towering defenders. Hoppenot drew the match’s first yellow card in the 26th minute when he was scythed down by Ryan Shawcross at the edge of the box, but Fernandes was unable to make anything of the dangerous free kick.

As Stoke countered, Shea took flight up the left flank only to be clattered into by Kassel. Both high and hard, the tackle was well out of place in a midweek friendly and though the referee only saw fit to caution the Union player, the Stoke players were livid as they watched their teammate limp down the tunnel, while the PPL Park crowd paid their respects to the American Gold Cup hero, serenading him with applause and chants of “USA! USA!”

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes said after the game of the injury to Shea, “Yeah he is going to be out for a number of weeks at least. Obviously we hope it is nothing more serious, but certainly he looks like he has done damage to his knee ligaments.”

Second Half

With 45 minutes in the books, John Hackworth brought on an entirely new side for the second half. Chris Konopka filled in behind the regular back four, while Michael Farfan joined Brian Carroll, sitting behind Keon Daniel as he had against Vancouver. Conor Casey took up the role of lone striker with Sebastien Le Toux and Danny Cruz running the wings.

But much as they had in the first half, Stoke played keep away for the early minutes of the second half. With Farfan operating out of the box-to-box role, he began to provide the Union with a player capable of possessing the ball and spurring the attack as he looked to bring in Le Toux and Daniel once the Union tracked down possession.

Comfortable sitting back and clearing the ball to touch, Stoke were content to defend a barrage of long throw-ins from Sheanon Williams. Their size advantage was telling, but in the 54th minute, the Union nearly had the ball in the back of the net. Amobi Okugo rose highest to flick his header towards goal, but when Le Toux’s follow up header beat substitute goalkeeper Jack Butland, he was standing well offsides and the play was brought back.

Unlike in the first half, where Kleberson and Lahoud had struggle to cope with Stoke’s seeking passes, Farfan and Carroll proved a tougher defensive pairing.

Farfan and Daniel combined to snuff out a Stoke attack in the 56th minute, allowing Casey to drive at goal. Unfortunately, he was unable to return the ball to Farfan as he raced towards goal, with Stoke conceding 1 of 9 corner kicks for the match.

With the Union charging at Butland, it seemed that a goal was coming, but the final pass eluded them at each turn. First Casey was unable to return Cruz’s pass at full flight before Farfan’s long ball for Casey was picked off by Buckland.

A quick counterattack in the 69th minute nearly sprung substitute Kenwyne Jones, but Ray Gaddis did ever so well to hold his ground and win the physical confrontation, despite giving away 5 inches to the powerful striker.

Substitute Peter Crouch had Stoke’s best chance of the second half moments later when he was played in on Konopka, but the offside flag saved his blushes, after he swung and missed at his tap in chance.

The Union had their best chance to cut the lead in half in the 70th minute, but Le Toux pushed his shot directly at Butland. Farfan began the move, playing Casey into space. The striker’s touch was heavy, but so too was the defender’s, leaving Le Toux with an open look on goal from the center of the box. Buckland parried only as far as Farfan, who had continued his run, but Le Toux was unable to get a toe to the low cross Farfan sent across the face of goal.

Playing high up the field, Daniel did well to knock down a driven ball in the 75th minute, laying it at Farfan’s feet. Spying Casey over the top, Farfan played the striker into space, but the play was called back for offsides.

Jones and substitute Peter Crouch almost combined again to ice the match as the clock wore towards 90 minutes, but after a quick 1-2 sent Crouch into space, Konopka did well to come off his line and make the save on the lanky striker.

The Union now return their attention to league play and Saturday’s game at PPL Park against Chicago at 8 pm.

Philadelphia Union
Oka Nikolov (Chris Konopka ’46); Matt Kassel (Sheanon Williams ’46), Aaron Wheeler (Amobi Okugo ’46), Chris Albright (Jeff Parke ’46), Fabinho (Ray Gaddis ’46); Michael Lahoud (Danny Cruz ’46), Kleberson (Michael Farfan ’46), Roger Torres (Brian Carroll ’46), Don Anding (Keon Daniel ’46); Antoine Hoppenot (Conor Casey ’46), Leo Fernandes (Sebastien Le Toux ’46)

Stoke City
Thomas Sorensen (Jack Butland ’46); Robert Huth (Mathew Etherington ’68), Marc Muniesa (Jonathan Walters ’68), Ryan Shawcross (Geoff Cameron ‘ 68), Marc Wilson (Florent Cuvelier ’89), Ryan Shotton, Brek Shea (Erik Pieters ’33), Glenn Whelan (Charlie Adam ’46), Stephen N’Zonzi (Wilson Palacios ’43), Michael Kightly (Peter Crouch ’46), Cameron Jerome (Kenwyne Jones ’46)
Unused substitute: Jordan Keane

Scoring Summary
4 – Stoke City: Kightly (Muniesa)
19 – Stoke City: Shea (Kightly)

Disciplinary Summary
26 – Stoke City: Shawcross (caution)
27 – Union: Kassel (caution)