Player ratings

Player ratings: Orlando City 2-1 Philadelphia Union

Photo: Paul Rudderow

A road-weary Philadelphia Union traveled from California to Florida last night to take on Orlando City SC in the fourth round of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, falling 2-1 to their hosts.  The heavily rotated starting eleven squad looked out-of-sync from the beginning and rarely looked dangerous in the first half.   Five second-half substitutions from Jim Curtin provided some spark and helped pull one goal back, but it was an overall forgettable game for the Union that they will want to quickly put behind them.

Player ratings

Matt Freese – 7

Good reaction save in first half stoppage time while not giving up a rebound, and then a solid close down on what was a golden opportunity for Orlando just before the halftime whistle. Both goals appeared to be out of his control. Did really well to prevent a third Orlando goal in stoppage.

Oliver Mbaizo – 4

Settled into this game decently after a sluggish first half and provided some offense down the right.

Jack Elliott – 6  (Subbed off at halftime)

A solid first half shift from Elliot. May have been fortunate not to pick up a yellow card on a strong tackle from behind late in the first half.

Stuart Findlay – 8

Good block early on to deny a good goal scoring opportunity for Orlando. Showed good positioning and closing down speed for a guy who hasn’t played since last year. Earned his first goal as a member of the Union with a composed one touch finish on a difficult ball out of the air. Certainly made the most out of his time on the field tonight.

Matt Real – 3 (Subbed off in the 75′)

Picked up an early yellow and was vulnerable down the left for most of the evening. Mistimed tackle led to the first Orlando City goal.

Leon Flach – 4 (Subbed of in the 61′)

Played the No. 6 position in this match. He looked tired early on and although he didn’t make any glaring mistakes on defense, he looked a half-step off most of the night.

Quinn Sullivan – 3

Wasn’t able to find the ball much at all this game and did not look threatening on the ball when he did. Started to look more decisive in the second half, but it was an overall forgettable game for Sullivan.

Jack McGlynn – 4

Wasn’t able to find the ball much in the first half. Weak free kick from a dangerous spot in the 35′. Picked up a tactical yellow card late in the second half.

Paxton Aaronson – 5

Looked composed while on the ball, especially when under pressure in the Union’s half of the field.

Daniel Gazdag (Subbed off in 62′) – 4

Had a decent look early in the first half but didn’t connect well on his shot.  He tried dropping deeper to get on the ball but there wasn’t much there for Gazdag this evening.

Cory Burke (Subbed of in 62′) – 4

Physical up top and did well to get on the ball often but didn’t make much of the opportunities he was given.

Substitutes

Jakob Glesnes (45′) – 5

Jose Martinez/Sergio Santos/Julian Carranza (61′) – 5

The game picked up slightly for the Union when this trio came on and they helped elevate the play of the Homegrowns (notably Sullivan and McGlynn).

Kai Wagner (75′) -6

Definitely added some spark after coming on.  Almost had the equalizer with a header in stoppage time.

Geiger Counter

Elvis Osmanovic – 6

He probably got a few calls wrong, but didn’t impact the game significantly one way or the other.

3 Comments

  1. I’d bump McGlynn up. I think he is already our best midfielder passer and is the only one on the field who is capable of fast one touch passes to the right player all the time. He is a different type of midfielder than anyone else we have, and his (lack of) athleticism will always be noticeable, but his passing is worth having on the field.

    • David Greene says:

      Agree. Little shocked with that one. Was our best and highest rated player. Completed 55 passes – 35 forward, that is more than the usual entire Union starting midfield do in an average game.
      On another note, team was set up to fail by starting Burke. Zero movement and cannot retain possession of the ball. Time to move on from him and when we consistently play the new strikers, you will see what a good player McGlynn and the others will be. Hopefully they don’t move elsewhere due to lack of playing time but don’t be surprised.

  2. Findlay played well in the Covid playoff game last year too. (Both NYCFC goals were created from the other – Mbaizo’s – side.) So 2 starts and 2 good games. But Curtin never gives him playing time except once a year approximately. Typical. He should get time both to rest our 2 best CB’s and to prepare him for the key role he might have to play in future games.

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