photo: Marjorie Elzey
Philadelphia Union and Orlando City played to a 2-2 draw in Orlando on Wednesday night with Jose Martinez striking an amazing shot from distance to equalize for the Union in the 90th minute. Duncan McGuire scored in the 13th minute and Martin Ojeda in the 54th minute to give Orlando a 2-0 lead. But Philadelphia pulled a goal back through Jack McGlynn in the 60th minute before Martinez smashed in a spectacular effort to assure the Union a point in Florida.
Orlando would take the lead in the 13th minute. Martin Ojeda made a clever back heeled touch in midfield to progress the ball to Duncan McGuire. McGuire did well to win a full blooded tackle from Jakob Glesnes and maintain possession near the top of the Union box. McGuire recovered the ball and then was able to finish with a cool right footed shot that curled around Union goalkeeper Joe Bendik and into the right corner of the goal.
The hosts would double their lead in the 54th minute. Martin Ojeda’s shot from the top of the box on the right side seemed to deflect off of the heal of McGuire and curled beyond Joe Bendik into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Philadelphia would pull a goal back in the the 60th minute through McGlynn. The midfielder would find time and space to cross from 25 yards out on the right side, and his curling ball would evade everyone and nestle into the left corner of the Orlando goal to give Philadelphia hope.
The Union would pull equal in spectacular style in the 90th minute when Martinez notched his first ever MLS goal. After Kai Wagner’s cross was half cleared by Orlando, the ball fell to the Venezuelan 30 yards out. Martinez ripped through the ball with a ferocious half volley that was curling away and beyond goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar before he even dove to draw the Union level on the evening.
Orlando would smash an effort off the crossbar and Mikkel Uhre would see his backheel effort deflect off the post before being saved deep into stoppage time and the game would end 2-2.
The Union are next in action when host Inter Messi (though without Messi) on Saturday (7:30 p.m.).
Three Points
- It’s Happened – Jose Martinez, take a bow. Years of watching the midfielder grow closer to smashing a goal from distance, he found the equalizer late in the match with a strike of incredible quality. The goal easily becomes one of the best in Union history.
- Forgettable – A second match this season between Philadelphia and Orlando was a poor affair with both teams missing key players through international call ups. MLS should pause during international windows.
- Under par. Joe Bendik and Joaquin Torres both started with key Union players unavailable due to international duty. Both looked like significant drop offs and Union fans will be hoping Blake and Gazdag return to the squad as quickly as possible, or that Jim Curtin has other ideas on personnel.
Philadelphia Union
Joe Bendik, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Olivier Mbaizo (Nate Harriel 74′), Mikkel Uhre (Chris Donovan 90+7′), José Martínez, Joaquín Torres (Alejandro Bedoya 65′), Leon Flach (Quinn Sullivan 74′), Jack McGlynn, Julián Carranza
Subs: Brandan Craig, Jeremy Rafanello, Holden Trent, Matthew Real, Jesús Bueno
Orlando City SC
Mason Stajduhar, Robin Jansson, Antônio Carlos, Rafael Santos (Gaston Gonzalez 80′), Kyle Smith (Rodrigo Schlegel 68′), Mauricio Pereyra, César Araujo, Felipe (Dagur Dan Thorhallsson 68′), Duncan McGuire (Ercan Kara 80′), Iván Angulo, Martín Ojeda (Ramiro Enrique 74′)
Subs: Favian Loyola, Juninho, Javier Otero, Luca Petrasso
Scoring Summary
ORL: Duncan McGuire – 13′ (Ojeda)
ORL: Martin Ojeda – 54′ (Angulo, Araujo)
PHL: Jack McGlynn – 60′ (Flach)
PHL: Jose Martinez
Disciplinary Summary
PHL: Olivier Mbaizo – 28′ (foul)
PHL: Leon Flach – 38′ (foul)
ORL: Mason Stajduhar – 61′ (other reason)
PHL: Julian Carranza – 61′ (other reason)
ORL: Ramiro Enrique – 82′ (time wasting)
PHL: Kai Wagner – 83′ (foul)
ORL: Ercan Kara – 88′ (foul)
Shit game rescued by a Martinez golazo. Torres is not a 10. Bendik is way too shaky to start an MLS match. Quality from both sides was mostly poor. And Orlando… that’s not a turnout. Sad showing. A point was as much as the Union deserved tonight.
El Brujo!!!!! Fantastic strike. Union were the better of the two sides. I can’t figure out Orlando. They have talent, but play a boring grinding style. Maybe it was the Union making them that way?
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Hopefully Gazdag will be back Saturday. The Defense and midfield need to tighten up considerably while Blake is at the Gold Cup.
I don’t blame Bendik for the 2 goals, and he did make a couple strong saves. But his positioning on Orlando’s 3rd goal was just awful. Thank goodness it got called back.
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We need a backup for Gazdag because Torres is not it.
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I thought the overall play of the match was about even, and the draw deserved. But both of our goals were, um, surprising?
Poor stuff from glesnes on goal 1. However, the ball, which was traveling away from the goal, hit the striker’s arm and rebounded to his feet. Aren’t the rules the same for offensive and defensive players? His arm was extended and changed the path of the ball. It was a clear and obvious error, but of course chili didn’t see it, var guy didn’t see it (probably drew Fisher, the blind Canadian), danny/cangy didn’t see it. What is the purpose of var?
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Orlando was not impressive at all. Philly was better, but not quite good. Coulda shoulda been a win. At least brujo’s rocket was fabulous.
I thought I saw that as well – and was waiting for a VAR or the commentators to say something.
Exactly what I saw on the first Orlando goal. And couldn’t figure out why VAR didn’t at least take a minute to review before play restarted. I thought that was more clear and obvious than the foul on Martinez on the goal that was called back.
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Really bad on the announcers for not picking it up. And those are probably the best that Apple has.
watched it real close – like three times off the highlights from Union site. I cannot see a hand ball in the build up. I can see where you might think it HAD to be, but there was one shot from a perfect angle and I really see nothing.
It occurred after glesnes attempted the tackle. Striker is on the ground, with his left hand on the turf. Ball caroms off of (probably, hard to tell though) glesnes and travels backwards, toward Orlando’s goal, and contacts the striker’s arm, after which it reverses direction.
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Another way to put it – it happened right before the striker got back to his feet and moved his left arm in a rather strange manner, given the situation.
After watching it and trying to pause it at the appropriate spot, I’m not sure if it hit his arm or shoulder. Slow motion would probably show for sure, but it seems like it should have taken VAR a minute or two to confirm one way or the other rather than have the play restart as soon as the teams were lined up.
Brujo finally gets his goal, and what a fabulous shot!!! Saves a point in another match where our midfield was mostly ineffective going forward and didn’t do much to protect the back line. Agree with the other comments, Torres is not the Ilsinho replacement. The only magic from him was his invisibility.
It has become quite the gameday tradition for us to celebrate Brujo’s one attempt from distance per game that lands deep in the stands. Figures he finally tallies one and I wasnt watching the game. Truly a world class strike I could watch again and again. Wowsers!
El Brujo’s goal was fabulous, Bedoya woke the sleepwalking team up when he came on, etc. etc. But an important piece of the story—the disallowed goal—not even mentioned.
And frankly, my key takeaway was: Torres should never be allowed to wear the shirt again. Since the lucky goal against Chicago, he’s been absolute dogshit. Get rid, immediately, and find someone better from the Under 10s to replace him.
To me Bendik’s biggest issue was at the very end when he stood there running out the clock rather than getting the ball upfield quickly to try and get a winner rather than just settle for a draw. Probably wouldn’t have happened, but it definitely won’t when he’s just standing there with the ball in his hands.
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And if Kai got a (deserved) yellow card for shoving the Orlando keeper, why didn’t the keeper get a (second) yellow card for shoving Kai back?
Congrats to Martinez for making my breath catch- at long last.
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Man, watching Bendik go to ground is painful. I can’t tell if he’s so slow or we are all skew-screwed because of how elastic and explosive Andre is. Every time I watch someone other then Andre play goal for this team I think the should be in ‘The Ring’ before he even retires- because we will never see anyone like him again.
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Otherwise, Herr Tanner. You have missed. A pretty solid whiff this season so far save Damion Lowe. Egregious error with the backup goal keeper who has now cost the team by my count 5 points.
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Joaquin Torres is not the guy… as evidenced by the moment last night -in the early portion of game– when he receive in a lovely spot inside the box has near post or far post and shoots the ball directly at the goaltender— reminded me of U11 soccer- and the other guy’s name is so forgettable I’ve forgotten it, which may be his fault or not.
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That said, nice to see Bedoya back at it.
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And did anyone notice the outside the foot no look one touch pass by Jack McGlynn last nite? Man, impart your Art sir, impart your Art.
I remember an experiment with Ale Bedoya at the 10 that also didn’t work at all. And we pushed that for months before giving up. Ilsinho eventually took the spot and was better at it. But it’s not Torrres’ natural position, either. If memory serves, Torres’ best performances were when Gazdag was also on the field. He can create but he can’t control, if that makes sense. He may have useful attributes when used correctly.
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The best thing I saw from Torres last night was his disappointment when he left the field. That tells me he knows he’s not bringing enough to the team and he wants to get better. Wanting to improve is the path to doing it.
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I think the problem is that Jim had no real options after Gazdag.
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And we should be talking more about Jack’s goal! Call it a lucky cross, if you want, but it was also a thing of beauty.
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A great team finds points even when playing poorly or missing pieces. And that what we had. Grit. Heart. Well done.
Fair rebuttal regarding Torres. I do remember Bedoya at the 10 and screaming to the trees about it myself.
+1
Perea for Torres? Please?
Petra was listed as unavailable due to illness..
I am glad that I returned from my engagement with enough time left in the game to see El Brujo’s goal in real time. I am still waiting for his first goal in a home match. Orlando’s third goal was correctly called back, but Bendic’s positioning was awful. I am pretty sure that Andre stops Orlando’s second goal, even though it was slightly deflected–we have seen that reaction save many times over the past 6 years or so. Also, Andre probably deflects it out of play to his right so as not to allow a rebound. From what I saw during the last part of the game in real time and in the highlights, this was Glesnes’ worst game as a Union player. I am pretty sure that Jamaica will go through in Gold Cup, but I for one am wishing them an early exit so that we can get Andre and Damien Lowe back without a lot of wear and tear on them.
The fourth member of the group with Jamaica, the US of A, and Trinidad & Tobago is St. Kitts & Nevis who qualified on two consecutive PK shootout wins.
The problem with any backup GK is… they are always compared to the starter, and let’s face it, they’re not as good as the starting GK. Otherwise they would either BE the starting GK, or somebody else’s starter at the first opportunity. Having said that, Bendik’s performance was mixed – a couple of really good saves, some questionable positioning gafs, and two really good shots that might have gotten by even Blake.
I say we’re lucky to have Bendik. Perhaps we should be looking at our defensive performance last night. Consider this – how much of Blake’s #s are a result of the four guys in front of him?
Another point to contemplate. Lucky to come away with a tie even though we didn’t get our often freebie from the penalty spot?
Amen.
Reasonable.
Disagree.
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I love Joe Bendik as a bench riding back up and coach, but he is NOT an MLS goalie anylonger.
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Look at his positioning on both goals. Terrible.
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Why not give Trent a shot against Miami with Gazdag back, and 3-5-2 again, please. We NEED a win at home. FCC is running away with the Supporter Shield and looks very impressive.
I wish Matt freese was still here
Freese, MacMath, Mondragon…
me too.
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Blake has been so dominant, saving Curtin’s jobs so often, back ups cannot grow here. That’s a challenge as his career winds down.
Haven’t seen anyone else mention this- but overturning Orlando’s 3rd goal for a foul on Martinez is a textbook example of how NOT to use VAR. the ref was in great position to see it and did not call a foul. It was not a possible red card situation so could not be reviewed- yellow cards are not reviewable
It’s reviewable because it’s in the build up to a goal. The yellow card was ancillary to the review, not the reason for it. But the ref missing it when he’s standing right there is embarrassing. It was a no brainer call from the broadcast.
Just looked at the MLS website and Messi was finally knocked off of the top spot by….EL BRUJO…
I think I read somewhere that McGlynn played #10 when he was younger. In the absence of Gazdag, wonder if that might be worth trying?
He has arguably the best touch and vision on the team and can probably play well in tight quarters. That change would also allow Flach to play next to Martinez in a midfield 5 to bolster the D.
I think that would make sense if Bedoya was healthy and ready to go 60-90 minutes (and that’s what happened when Bedoya did come in).
McGlynn was a number 10 when he joined the organization. His first comments emphasized that he knew he had to improve his performance on the defensive side of the ball.
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I have no statistics to back my eyeballs and gut. That said, he does not have the twinkle toes that tend to be associated with the best MLS — and higher level — number tens. He doesn’t partly because Paxten did.
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He was not an instant “fix” when he played there. but he seemed to get more done than Torres had.
Completely lifeless first half. Sprung to life in the second half, fair result for both sides.
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Some nuanced observations – Sullivan appears a but shy when he gets the ball out wide looking to lay it off first or drifting away from goal trying not to make a mistake. In one instance he put the moves on a defender and whipped in a dangerous cross. More of that please! I’d be willing to accept some giveaways in exchange for him trying to take on defenders 1v1. You see it with USYNT too, he just needs a confidence boost.
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Mcguire on Orlando has a bit of Cory Burke in him that just works at eh MLS level… I miss Cory and his physicality.
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Bedoya’s 30-35 minute run is how I’d like to see him used going forward rather than 90 mins running him into the ground. Looked fresh and “himself.”
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Another clunker from Mbaizo and Harriel looked good in his minutes… give the latter another start. Great problem to have at RB – it would be great if either could play LB if Kai departs.
Mbaizo made some good clearances, cut him some slack. Harriel has played RB already.
It’s moments like Jose’s golazo that keep me coming back to the game. Whether it’s the visionary pass, the sublime first touch, the clever build up to a goal, the incredible save, or whatever fill-in-the-blank magic you appreciate…
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… this is why I watched as a young boy, was inspired to play pick-up games in my neighborhood (and later organized), and now keep on watching.
In 1986 I sat on a sizzling metal bleacher in the summer sun awaiting footy tryouts for the first time totally and completely at a loss with what I had just seem in Mexico. The diminutive Argentinian changed everything about my life. I get it, Doc.
Only played after I turned 12 or 13. Learned from guys who had played in college and were our coaches. I really had no skill. But loved to play and watch. Rekindled my intrest through my kids. And then the Union. Only sport I ever bought season tickets for. The magic and invention is what I enjoy. And even tho it can be ugly, it is still the beautiful game.
That Martinez golazo…magic!