Text and photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union
CHESTER, Pa. (June 29, 2024) – The Philadelphia Union traveled to Saputo Stadium to face CF Montréal on Saturday night, falling 4-2. Homegrown midfielder Quinn Sullivan opened the scoring for the Union in the 29th minute, scoring his second MLS goal of the season. Montreal drew even in the 36th minute with a goal by Josef Martinez. The Union took the lead in the 41st minute when midfielder Jesús Bueno registered his second goal of the season. In the second half, Montreal responded with a 56th minute goal from Bryce Duke. In the 89th minute, Dominik Iankov gave Montreal the lead. Ruan extended the lead for Montreal in stoppage time.
The Union travel to Soldier Field to face Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday, July 3 (8:30 p.m. ET/ Apple TV).
TODAY’S MATCH INFO
REF: Jon Freemon
AR1: Nick Uranga
AR2: Gianni Facchini
4TH: Michael Venne
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
Weather: 74 degrees and cloudy.
GOALS/ASSISTS
PHI – Quinn Sullivan (Harriel, McGlynn) 29’
MTL – Josef Martinez (Duke) 36’
PHI – Jesús Bueno (Flach) 41’
MTL – Bryce Duke 56’
MTL – Dominik Iankov (Edwards) 89’
MTL – Ruan (Lappalainen, Opoku) 90’+2’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
MTL – Ruan (caution) 90’+3’
PHI – Jakob Glesnes (caution) 90’+5’
Lineups
Philadelphia Union: Andrew Rick; Kai Wagner, Jakob Glesnes, Jack Elliott, Nathan Harriel; Leon Flach, Jesús Bueno, Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan; Chris Donovan (Daniel Gazdag 62’), Tai Baribo (Olivier Mbaizo 76’).
Substitutes not used: Oliver Semmle; Olwethu Makhanya, CJ Olney Jr., Jeremy Rafanello.
CF Montréal: Jonathan Sirois; Joaquín Sosa (Lassi Lappalainen 62’), Gabriele Corbo, George Campbell, Raheem Edwards, Bryce Duke (Victor Wanyama 90’+3’) , Nathan Saliba, Ruan, Josef Martínez (Dominik Iankov 76’), Sunusi Ibrahim, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (Kwadwo Opoku 62’).
Substitutes not used: Sebastian Breza; Ilias Iliadis, Rida Zouhir, Grayson Doody, Alessandro Biello.
TEAM NOTES
Defender Jack Elliott made his 200th MLS regular season start for Philadelphia Union, making him the fourth player in club history to reach the milestone joining Andre Blake, Alejandro Bedoya and Ray Gaddis.
The Union travel to Soldier Field to face Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday, July 3 (8:30 p.m. ET/ Apple TV).
PSP’s Three Points:
- Nathan Harriel only confuses the central defense when he plays there.
- The lads did not lack spirit, but they were outmatched by a squad with an even worse season record.
- Probably a good thing for team morale that it happened on the road.
This is the briefest match report yet and I can make it shorter. Two words.
F***k**g Pathetic
Well put.
I feel sorry for Andrew Rick, though.
Well It looks like the only bright spot for this season is the Union should qualify for next years US Open Cup.
Well the other bright spot is that both Sullivan, plus Bueno have a couple of goals: so THEY can now be shopped for sale. :-/
The technical quality of these two teams is so low… only slightly better by Montreal.
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As an example—-The Montreal third gol was the exact gol McGlynn tried to get Donovan in for in the first 5 minute but since Christine Donovan does not have a top tier
professional first touch —> he was unable to turn with it then shoot… every first touch for Chris Donovan tonight required a corrective second touch which required him to pass the ball backwards.
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Can’t win if a player like Chris Donovan is a starter. Let alone Nathaniel Harriel.who is this years poster child for me ….how far off this team is.
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My curiosity now is how does Jim not ruin Andrew Rick after doing this to him… by putting Semmele in his ever so familiar Shithouse.
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The juxtaposition between watching the Euros, then Copa, then the bottom half of MLS – missing half the team’s starters – is jarring. Single out Donovan or Harriel, sure, but this team’s style of play combined with this iteration of players on it is just ugly and ineffective.
* not Christine. I’m not Jim Rome
You’re not the type to make that kind of comment. I know I don’t know you but not your style! Minus the autocorrect miss step, your statement is sound! Are we watching the slow demise of Jim Curtain?
Well all expectations now met with Sugarman’s Sad Sack team of high schoolers and pro wannabe’s…that is there are none. These dismal performances look to be the norm so settle in and watch Curtin spout a prerehearsed recap in his post match presser for the increasingly apathetic fans. Starting to see the Union logo on the other side of the stadium…
Sad (I think I spelled that correctly)
Less and less interest in the team, especially having to watch the horrid broadcast on apple (why can’t they show at least one freeze frame when the pass was made so we could actually see if Baribo was onsides or not…of course the announcers just assumed he wasn’t…and whether the Union player who swung at it on the way in made contact)
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Not that it would have made a difference, but why couldn’t the Union make some sort of deal to get Lowe back given that Jamaica won’t be advancing and should probably be giving someone younger a look tonight.
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Probably won’t bother to watch either of the next two games. Was originally planning to come back from 4th of July weekend in time for Saturday’s game, but I’d now rather spend the time with friends than at a Union game.
( Press Conference allegory) The Captain is going down on the the Titanic. True, he steered the ship into the iceberg. He refuses to tell passengers that the life boats are not sea worthy and there are not enough life boats on the ship before leaving port. Thousands die. After the tragedy, the owner of the ship sits safely in port counting the insurance money he will make on the ship that he had insured for 3 times its value. Passengers who survived are unable to sue because of the maritime law regarding the sinking of the ships in international waters and the waiver they all signed before boarding. Greedy money grabbing Owner goes on to buy a bigger ship and lives happily ever after. Oh the Humanity !
Just when you think this team has hit bottom, they sink lower.
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Jim sent the team out in a flat 4-4-2, which did not seem like a good idea. I understand the personnel limitations, but playing without a CDM does not help your backline, which needs the help these days. Then he compounded the problem by switching into a 5-3-2 / 3-5-2, which puts even MORE pressure on the CBs. Result: 2 late goals.
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This season appears lost, but if he wants to TRY to get the best of the remaining games, the team needs to set up in a 4-2-3-1. That would clearly make the best use of personnel on multiple accounts, and give the back line some of the additional help that they sorely need.
At this point you cannot have enough defense, in my opinion. I think you play a 4-3-3 with Flach, Martinez and Bueno. You play Bedoya, Gazdag and Uhre/Baribo up top. Quinn has been good in attack. Mcglynn is a let down. And neither is very good in defense. Bench or sell. Bring them in late to mix it up, maybe. I would give up an attacker if we could have two goalkeepers.
You cannot take a team starved for forwards… and play with 3 forwards. That will never work. Gazdag is not a forward, and Bedoya is absolutely no forward. And with three defensive midfielders behind them, the Union would never score a goal.
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The 4-2-3-1 puts everybody in the position that suits them. Flach and Martinez can split DM duties, and give lots of cover to the back line. McGlynn and Sullivan can concentrate on offense, where they are much better. Gazdag can play in the middle where he belongs. And we can have Uhre or Barb up top, with the other as a nice sub.
I tuned in a bit late, but I did see all of the goals. The Union have gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in two years, admittedly with the help of key injuries (Andre Blake), the absence of the most prolific goal scorer in Union history (Carranza), the aging process (CBs), and international duties. On June 29, 2024 the Union were the worst team in the
MLS East. I am sorry to be harsh here, but I have seen enough to say the following:
1) Chris Donovan does not have the technical skill to play at this level.
2) Nathan Harriel has regressed to the point that he cannot defend. He is a defensive liability which every MLS team will exploit. Why attack anywhere else?
3) Neither Semmle nor Rick are going to be first-class GKs in MLS. Let’s contrast their play to the young Andre Blake. Andre Blake’s first instinct was to command the box by coming out and attacking set pieces with catches and punches. Andre needed to learn to read the game better and to trust his defenders, but his instinct to command the box was the right one. Neither Semmle nor Rick have that instinct. I would rather see them try and fail to intercede in the box than for them to sit back and fail, which both of them have done repeatedly.
4) Jakob Glesnes is a shell of his former MLS Defender of the Year self.
5) The Union play better when they press. Without Jose Martinez and Damian Lowe, they cannot hold a lead. So the solution is to continue to press and play in the opponent’s end–duh!
6) Do not sub out Tai Baribo or Quin Sullivan.
Questions:
1) Is/was Andre Blake that good that he covered the defensive mistakes that this team seemingly continually makes?
2) Has Jim Curtin “lost” this team such that they do not fit his plan nor can he adjust his plan to the personnel he has?
It does look as if Curtin has lost this team, indeed. I think we should trade him for Berhalter!
Regarding Andrew Rick – Andre Blake was 23 when the Union drafted him. Andrew Rick is 18. He still has 5 more years to even reach the age of a “young Andre Blake”. It seems incredibly premature to write him off at this point. None of us have any idea of what Blake’s instincts looked like when he was 18. If Rick can’t command his box by 2029, then sure, we can give up on him.
Andrew Rick should never have been put in this predicament. Keepers have a long maturation cycle. Shame on the desperate elders who should have known better.
Before saying not to sub Baribo, realize that he was injured in warmups and went as long as he could. Just like in the Cincinnati game when he signaled for a sub after 90 minutes which ended up being Anderson who cost the team the game.
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Sometimes there are just no good options.
The point about pressing is the key here. Without the press, they have no offensive identity – but they can only press with a well-drilled group of mature players. They don’t have that at their disposal right now.
Absolutely perfect summarization of this team ….Andersen and baribo must start and flach and Lowe must be added for defensive help, both glesnes and Elliot are done in my opinion. The fact that Jim held Donovan as a better option than Baribo last year and this year when both were healthy, tells you everything you need to know about good ol’ Jim. Time to close the Curtin!
Anderson came in for 10 minutes against Cincinnati and gave away the game. Other than that he’s been hurt a lot. Lowe has been with the Jamaican national team. So is your idea that they should start with only 9 players on the field if Elliott and Glesnes are done and that Anderson should play center back when he’s healthy?
Answer to #1: no, this was not ALL Andrea Blake. In fact, during the 2022 heyday, Blake didn’t even need the Superman cape that often. Glesnes and Elliott and Wagner and Martinez suffocated everything.
Winless in their last 7. Haven’t won since May 18th.
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Players get hurt and miss time. That’s part of the game. However, the front office knew several key players were going to miss significant stretches because of international duty and they decided to do… nothing?!? They knew their star striker was likely to leave so they signed a guy from the third division of Spain. Coach couldn’t figure out a way to mix in the few new signings over the last two years. Now there’s zero depth.
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Institutional arrogance – the owner, the GM, and the coach. All guilty to varying degrees. Sad!
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Exactly!!!
Have they won with Flach? I don’t lay the blame at his feet. Rather, this team seems to be full of players that can do one thing and nothing else. Flach intercepts passes but he and Donovan are not skillful enough to play in this league.
Flach played the full 90 in New England.
WSSM
Carranza officially to Feyenoord; he got away of this s^^^hole dumpster fire of a team just in time.
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I hear Gregg B. will be on line 1 once Uruguay dispatches the USMNT tomorrow night.