Photo: Howie Pollard
The Philadelphia Union continued a strong run of form at home as the battle for second in the Eastern Conference took place with Nashville SC visiting on Saturday night. The Philadelphia win draws both sides even on points so far, with Philadelphia holding the tiebreaker over Nashville for more wins during the year.
On to the ratings.
Player Ratings
Andre Blake – 6
Wasn’t much for Andre Blake to do on the night. Kept another clean sheet and wasn’t really tested.
Olivier Mbaizo– 5
An alright outing for the right back, although wasn’t involved as much offensively as he usually is. Didn’t have any glaring defensive issues, helping keep the clean sheet.
Jakob Glesnes – 7
A pretty good night for the Norwegian, did have that one bad giveaway leading to a chance for Nashville. Other than that was sound in his passing and defensive responsibility.
Jack Elliott – 8
Elliott hardly put a foot wrong for most of the match, and was effective in bringing the ball up and finding passing lanes. Won the foul leading to the penalty and kept Nashville’s attack contained.
Kai Wagner – 6
A good defensive night for Wagner, who prevented Nashville form attacking down the right side. Didn’t get in his usual volume of crosses offensively, which may actually be a good thing for the Union attack.
Leon Flach – 6
A pretty good outing for Flach moving back to the left side of the midfield. Does well covering for Wagner when he gets up into the attack, but still limited offensively.
Alejandro Bedoya – 6
A classic outing from the captain that involved a lot of dirty running. Helped in transition from defense to offense and linked play well, didn’t have many offensive touches though.
Jamiro Monteiro – 8
A good outing for Monteiro who looks to be returning to his energetic and lively ways. Played the ball in that earned the penalty and played in Gazdag for a chance. Coming into form at the right time for Philadelphia.
Jose Martinez – 6
A good outing for the Venezuelan at the base of the diamond. Kept his cool for the most part and was a great defensively in transition. Got up into the attack on occasion and didn’t attempt any long shots destined for the bleachers.
Daniel Gazdag – 5
A 5 may be a little low for Gazdag, who’s been looking more and more comfortable in a Union shirt. Made good passes in the attack to link with Monteiro, but was caught on a breakaway to squander a chance.
Kacper Przybylko – 6
A 6 may be a bit generous for the big man, but he did score the game’s only goal. Wasn’t involved much outside of the penalty and one or 2 chances though, which has been par for the course this season.
Subs
Stuart Findlay – N/A
Was put in to help keep the clean sheet and did just that. Not much else for the big Scotsman.
Paxten Aaronson- 5
A 30 minutes filled with a lot of running for the young Aaronson. Had a half chance in the box but couldn’t get his shot away in time.
Player of the Match – Jack Elliott
A defensive rock again for Philadelphia, Elliott didn’t have a flashy game but hardly made a mistake. In a defensive game decided by a early penalty, he was the standout.
Geiger Counter
Armando Villarreal – 6
A pretty good outing for the man in green. Let some physical play go early, and got the big penalty decision correct. Was consistent and handed out cautions when necessary.
‘Dags continued improvement deserves more than a 5. Partnering well with Miro
Agree and the next thing we need is for him and KP to get closer to the same page because they still seem disconnected from each other’s ideas.
Martinez deserves an extra point for not getting a card. Not that he deserved one, just that he didn’t get one.
I would actually ding both Aaronson and Przybylko a point each for trying to score during stoppage time rather than going to the corner and killing time.
Agree to a point. If Przybylko had crossed the last one rather than pounded the shot, I think Aaronson was going to tap in the second goal of the game.
MBaizo, Wagner, Martinez, Gazdag all at least a point low for me.
I’m not dissatisfied with the scores. Last game I thought nobody deserved more than a 2 so I may be still carrying that in the back of my head… we just need to find more goals or at least more ideas in the final 3rd.
Week in.
Week out.
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The reality is- the best player on this team is Jack Elliott. Good to see him rewarded thusly.
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I thought Flach was superb in that match. And Martinez & Montiero a bit more himself(s
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Maybe the international travel and long season fatiguing them… but after scathing criticism by me recently they both were quite good against Nashville.
Jack Elliott is consistently excellent. Absolutely MOTM for this one, and now named to the MLS TOTW, quite deservedly.
Agreed. It’s quite astonishing honestly, considering the bevy of defensive talent the Union have acquired or drafted over the years (everyone from Steven Vitoria to Josh Yaro), that the lanky guy from West Virginia has outdone them all.