photo: Daniel Studio
The Union kept their playoff hopes alive another week as Marcus Epps and Roland Alberg were both on target as Philadelphia defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. Epps finished a flowing move in the 28th minute, and Alberg sealed the points with a brilliant shot from the outside the box in the 88th minute.
Jim Curtin made four changes to the team that lost in Atlanta mid-week. Richie Marquez came in for Oguchi Onyewu, Ray Gaddis replaced the injured Keegan Rosenberry, Ilsinho came in to start in the central midfield at the expense of Warren Creavalle, and Marcus Epps was a late addition, as Chris Pontius had abdomen discomfort during the warmups.
The Union took the lead in the 19th minute through Marcus Epps. Alejandro Bedoya started the move with a great pass down the wing for Epps, who squared inside for Haris Medunjanin. The Bosnian then found Ilsinho on the top of the box with a clever no-look pass. Ilsinho held the ball perfectly and spotted Epps in behind the Seattle backline on the right. The rookie took a touch to come inside and finished with a smooth shot into the near post beyond Stefan Frei.
Fabinho would have a chance to double the Union lead late in the first half. Stefan Frei misplayed a rolled ball after catching a Union corner, and the left back fired a first time shot from 25 yards that just missed the left post.
Clint Dempsey would provide a spark coming off the bench for Seattle in the 55th minute. First, the U.S. international forced a palmed save from Blake in the 59th minute and then fired a half volley just high in the 67th minute.
Roland Alberg sealed the win with brilliant finish in the 88th minute. Haris Medunjanin hit a short corner to Alberg, who spun past two Sounders defenders and cut inside from the left. As he approached the corner of the box, the midfielder ripped a shot into the far corner that Frei could only get a hand to as it nestled into the corner.
Philadelphia pull within four points of the New York Red Bulls and the final playoff spot with the win. They are next in action when they travel to Chicago on October 15 after next week’s international break.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union
Andre Blake, Fabinho, Ray Gaddis, Richie Marquez, Jack Elliott, Haris Medunjanin, Alejandro Bedoya, Fafa Picault (Derrick Jones 88′), Marcus Epps (Jay Simpson 77′), Ilsinho (Roland Alberg 71′) C.J. Sapong
Unused Subs: John McCarthy, Oguchi Onyewu, Giliano Wijnaldum
Seattle Sounders
Stefan Frei, Nouhou Tolo (Henry Wingo 60′), Kelvin Leerdam, Tony Alfaro, Chad Marshall, Jordy Delem (Clint Dempsey 55′), Gustav Svensson, Nicolas Lodeiro, Joevin Jones, Cristian Roldan (Lamar Neagle 80′), Will Bruin
Unused subs: Harry Shipp, Aaron Kovar, Oniel Fisher, Tyler Miller
Scoring summary
PHI: Marcus Epps— 10′ (Ilsinho, Haris Medunjanin)
PHI: Roland Alberg — 88′
Disciplinary summary
SEA: Jordy Delam— 11′ (unsporting behavior)
PHI: Ilsinho— 42′ (unsporting behavior)
| Philadelphia Union | Seattle Sounders | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Shots | 13 |
| 7 | Shots on Target | 5 |
| 4 | Shots off Target | 4 |
| 4 | Blocked Shots | 4 |
| 10 | Corner Kicks | 4 |
| 22 | Crosses | 19 |
| 3 | Offsides | 3 |
| 5 | Fouls | 5 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 474 | Total Passes | 501 |
| 82% | Passing Accuracy | 86% |
| 48.9% | Possession | 51.1% |
| 47 | Duels Won | 41 |
| 53.6% | Duels Won % | 46.4% |
| 16 | Tackles Won | 9 |
| 5 | Saves | 5 |
| 24 | Clearances | 25 |
Convinced they were going to surrender and equalizer.
Looks like a fun time for anyone who attended.
What a match!
A win in October.
Huh.
“Playoffs” is not something we should be discussing this year.
Would be nice, if nigh impossible, to get playoffs but at the end of the day we need an overhaul
Roland Alberg isn’t a better soccer player than CJ, but he’s the best striker on this team. No question.
That was a filthy shot….
The team should have been built around Arlberg and the team should have made sure he would have gotten the ball lots; then we would have been solid playoff contenders.
i.e. if only Jimmy C. had built a system around his best players instead of shoe horning what he has into his rigid 4-2-3-1. Alberg is a quality player, even if people think he is “lazy”. The guy can score, with either foot…
Strong effort for the first 55 minutes or so. Then it was Blake to the rescue for the next 35.
nods head.
The most impressive thing is 474 passes for the Union. Nice performance.