Photo: Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
The Union hosted Red Bulls and let the visitors walk out with 3 points after a 2-0 defeat. Derrick Jones, filling in for an injured Bedoya, picked up a red card early in the second half, and the Union simply could not overcome the man advantage. More from the Union, MLS, Philly.com, CSNPhilly, Section215, and SBI.
Kevin Kinkead on the red card: refs have been making that call for years. Curtin acknowledged the rule last year. Basically, you may not like the call, but by MLS rules, it was the correct call.
Post-game quotes. Quick hits from Curtin’s post-game presser. Highlights.
Former fan favorite Vincent Nogueira stopped by Philly this weekend.
Soccer helps bond families. Happy (belated) Father’s Day!
Local
Adam Najem lead Bethlehem to a PSP.
Reading United became the first team to take points from the U-23 Red Bulls with their 2-1 victory this weekend.
19 students graduated from YSC Academy. Many are going to local colleges, and Matt Real has signed with Bethlehem Steel.
MLS
Scores and recaps from all of this weekend’s games.
A take for every team after this weekend.
Around the globe
Russia opened the Confederations Cup with a 2-0 victory, Mexico and Portugal drew 2-2 after two late goals, and Chile beat Cameroon 2-0.
17 year old U.S. striker Timothy Weah is set to sign with PSG.
Highlight of the day
Hector Moreno’s late inch-perfect header to draw Mexico level.
How many “correct” calls did Chapman not bother to make? Just watching him trying to hurry the Union during stoppages while it was 0-0 but not showing the same demeanor toward NY when it was 1-0 makes me question whether he stopped in the NY locker room afterwards to pick up his check. Or maybe it was the league offices since MLS doesn’t want NY to lose on national TV.
Having now seen the replay of the Jones red (I didn’t see it live, I was on the concourse in line at the time) – it’s not a straight red in the context of the game. Chapman was garbage all day. Felipe drew the card. He has 5 or something red cards drawn already just this year. But it’s MLS and we have to expect just bad officiating. The decision to give the straight red impacted the game, period. At best, the Union deserved a draw, and they weren’t very good for most of the day… but bad calls are bad calls. Oh well… until we get a #10 and remember how to score some goals, we won’t win… no matter the ref.
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Just a side question for those who watched on TV – was Twellman talking about Robles early on, when it appeared he had some sort of (what I thought was a) head injury? What was going on there?
I’m sorry, but that was an absolute red card tackle in today’s modern game. Studs up, over the ball and could have been a leg breaker if he made more contact. Just because he didn’t actually make full contact doesn’t mean that the tackle didn’t deserve a red.
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I’ve never understood why anyone makes a tackle like that. I played highly competitive soccer for 20 years and never once made a tackle like that. I loved crunching tackles and physical play, but there’s really no place in the game for tackles like that.
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The worst part is there was no reason to slide tackle in that moment. He had the ball won without even needing to slide. Emotions of playing a rival likely got the better of him.
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I really like Jones and he has a bright future, but that was a mistake and I’m sure he’ll learn from it. Deserved red that ultimately cost the Union points.
I don’t think he was intending to make a slide tackle. I think he was reaching for the ball and slipped as he made contact and his foot went over the ball. Had he been two inches closer to the ball when he swung his foot, the ball would have been halfway across the field.
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Given what Chapman let NY get away with throughout the game, I still need to question whether it was New York paying him off or whether the league wanted New York to win on national television.
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I should also mention that I told the people sitting near me before the game that the Union were screwed with Chapman as the ref.
OMW, as to the Robles question, yeah Twellman was singing his praises all match. The head thing was from contact with Pontius, where it looked like he may have scratched his eye or something. Honestly it wasn’t very clear and Twellman and the other douche weren’t sure either.
Matt Real signed with the Steel during this past offseason.
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I am pretty sure he is pursuing college credits remotely via the Internet, perhaps at Southern New Hamshire University.
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YSC Academy head Dr. Nooha Ahmed-Lee has been looking into those possibilities for those interested within in the organization, together with Director of Operations Jim Pierce.