Photo: Marjorie Elzey
The Union kept their win streak alive with a 2-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Saturday night. Andre Blake stopped a few Red Bull chances to keep Philadelphia level early on, then the trio of Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza came to life, securing both goals for a Union win.
On to the ratings.
Player Ratings
Andre Blake – 9
Blake kept New York off the board early with some great saves in the first half, a large reason the Union went on to win. A great outing for the Jamaican and another clean sheet.
Nathan Harriel– 6
A good night for the young homegrown who was handed a start to rest Mbaizo. Handled himself well defensively but isn’t an offensive threat as much as Mbaizo is.
Jack Elliott – 7
A little nervy 30 minute opening period for the centerback, who earned a yellow card and gave some good looks to New York. Settled in the second half for another shutout on the road.
Jakob Glesnes – 7
A similar outing to Elliott as Glesnes was also shown a yellow rather early in the match. Didn’t give many offensive looks in the second half though.
Kai Wagner– 7
A classic night for the German left back, who wasn’t tested all game and delivered some excellent balls into the box.
Leon Flach – 7
A good night for Flach covering the base of the midfield diamond for Jose Martinez on the night. Made some really good recovery runs late in the game.
Jack McGlynn– 6
McGlynn could be a 7, but it took him a little long to find the game. His set up to Uhre for his goal was beautiful though.
Daniel Gazdag – 7
Another night, another goal for the Hungarian. Gazdag was kept quiet for most of the night by the New York defense, but got in a good position to finish a good team goal.
Matt Real- 5
Hard to be too tough on Real who made his first start in some time and in a position he isn’t too familiar with. Provided some good running and defensive cover.
Mikael Uhre – 8
Uhre took his goal extremely well, tucking a low shot to the far post with no chance of the keeper making a save. Also picked up a secondary assist on Gazdag’s goal.
Cory Burke – 6
A lot of physicality and running from Burke who was hungry to find a scoring chance. Didn’t really have any looks on goal and was a deserved sub.
Subs
Paxten Aaronson – N/A
A short outing replacing Uhre to see out the win.
Julian Carranza – 7
Brought some energy to the press for the Philly attack. Created the turnover and had the assist for Gazdag’s goal.
Alejandro Bedoya – 6
A 30 minute appearance to help see out a win on the road and establish more of a press on the Red Bull defense.
Player of the Match – Andre Blake
Blake made the biggest saves of the night and kept the game goalless when his team needed it. The best goalkeepers aren’t always the busiest, but they make the big saves when their teams needs it.
Geiger Counter
Tim Ford – 5
A pretty good showing from Ford, who allowed physical play based on both teams style, but quickly brandished cards for anything excessive.
Haven’t watched the whole match yet from my DVR, but did watch the highlights at MLS.com
Seemed like Aaron Long got beat on a lot of the highlights.
What did he look like the rest of the game?
I love our front 3, but if he can’t lock them down, what is he going to do against the best in the world in December?
Sit on the bench.
Watch on TV when the US gets eliminated in the group stage in November?
Scores seem fair, but disagree on Ford. Thought the calls were very one-sided against the Union for much of the first half while letting similar contact go uncalled against NJ, and a little too quick to give out cards to Glesnes and Elliot while letting NJ go with warnings.
Definitely agree on the Glesnes card. Thought it was just two people running in different directions making accidental contact. Elliott’s was pretty clear cut.
.
In general, he seemed somewhat inconsistent on the night. Not as bad as Wednesday’s ref was, but still not very good.
Carranza should be higher. Not to take anything away from Gazdag’s shootin boots, but that goal was all Carranza. He picked the player, played the one-two and then played the assist.
.
Beautiful stuff to watch from the front three. Carranza->Uhre->Carranza->Gazdag->Goal.
A brief statistical ode to Andre Blake:
.
Among goalies Andre Blake is:
1st in GA (0.7) – next is 1.07!
1st in Sv% (81.7%) – next is 77.4%
1st (tie) in Clean Sheets (13)
3rd in Saves (94)
.
He’s also one of only five goalkeepers to play every minute of the MLS season. As an aside, only two field players have played every minute: Glesnes and Wagner.