Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia Union tied Orlando City SC 3-3 in a closed-door, 135-minute, closed scrimmage Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla.
C.J. Sapong equalized for the Union in the 120th minute.
The game was split into three, 45-minute periods, as opposed to a standard regulation game. The match was neither televised or streamed online, so information derives primarily from the clubs themselves. Lineups were not available.
Jay Simpson, Ilson, Jr., and Sapong scored for the Union, in the 41st, 49th, and 120th minutes, respectively. Alejandro Bedoya and unsigned draft pick defender/defensive midfielder Jack Elliott assisted on the first and third goals. Ilson, in particular, produced a stunning strike, reproduced in the Twitter video below.
All square after 135 minutes in Orlando with 3 goals for each side.
Recap right here: https://t.co/aZ9hNUiO7O pic.twitter.com/ha7v3Vsm6T
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) February 15, 2017
Will Johnson, Carlos Rivas and Cyle Larin scored for the Lions. The Johnson goal came off a throw-in combination that caught Philadelphia in a fatal half-second’s relaxation at the very death of the first period.
Orlando’s goals are reproduced in the Twitter video below.
First action of 2017 versus @MLS opponents: ☑️ #NeverHuntAlone pic.twitter.com/KMWv02Pcp3
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) February 16, 2017
Three points
- Draft picks still with Union: Santi Moar and Hugh Roberts are in Pennsylvania practicing with Bethlehem Steel FC. (Moar is already under contract with Bethlehem.) Aaron Jones and Chris Nanco are the other two unsigned draft picks besides Elliott.
- McCarthy in goal: Andre Blake was not available for the Union and was replaced in goal by John McCarthy, who appears to have surrendered all three Orlando goals. It’s not clear if he played the whole game.
- No live stream: Sorry, everyone. We wanted to watch this game too. We’re hoping the upcoming preseason games are live-streamed. If they are, PSP will have much more in-depth coverage.
That’s a pretty interesting thought, never really thought about the trade-offs with your bench’s fitness.
Last season early on the Union used the Steel to improve and / or maintain first team bench fitness.
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Walter Restrepo in particular took full advantage, started playing defense, got into game shape and got a few appearances with the Union.
Gooch somehow behind Will Johnson on the first Orlando goal, then juked and jogging 10ft away (not closing) on the second goal. Hopefully not a sign of the future!
With Yaro out now, Gooch is definitely going to get some minutes back there and I really hope he steps it up a little.
A Bethlehem Steel post on one of the various social media shows Chris Nanco practicing with the Steel.
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That suggests he is no longer in the Union picture.
Huge thanks for this one Tim! Glad someone is putting together a decent picture from the scraps the MLS clubs decide to feed us. I can’t wait for actual preseason friendlies.
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I think the biggest surprise out of all of this is Elliott. I had just assumed he would be signed to a Steel contract, especially after Epps and Najem both got Union deals. But he apparently showed very well on the day. Might yet find his way to the senior club.