Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union started their season in fashion with a high flying road victory over Orlando City. Despite giving up an early goal amid a rocky start to the game, the Boys in Blue settled into the match, and scored four unanswered goals in a comeback win. The Big Three of Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag and Tai Baribo were all on the score sheet. This marked the first win over the Lions since 2022 and the first win of the Bradley Carnell era.
First Half
Between the young players, new signings, and a tweaked system, it wasn’t surprising to see the Union have a shaky start. Orlando’s Marko Pašalić nearly scored with the first shot of the game. As such, the first several minutes were a nervy affair. Orlando was able to beat the Union’s press while Union players made several bad turnovers. A goal for the Lions looked likely.
Orlando would find that early goal through their new DP Marco Pašalić. Pašalić combined well with Atuesta, and as the Ecuadorian continued his run forward, it opened up space for Pašalić. The Croatian winger drove into the box and finished low past Andre Blake after just 8 minutes.
After the goal, the Union appeared to settle into the game. Their mistakes lessened and the press started to do some damage.
The Boys in Blue levelled things up in the 23rd minute through Tai Baribo. Quinn Sullivan did well to put in a challenge on a Lion’s player, and won the ball back in Orlando’s third. While his pass towards Baribo was blocked away, Wagner picked it up near the endline and sent in a low cross, giving Baribo a tap-in.
Blake was needed in the 36th minute when Pašalić took a rip from long range. The Jamiacan netminder did well to parry the knuckling shot away for a corner which the Union cleared away without incident.
The first half ended with a golden chance for the Union. From a corner, Glesnes filicked Wagner’s delivery to the back post. Danley, battling with a Lions defender, was able to head the ball back across goal. Despite both Uhre and Baribo arriving at the spot, neither were able to turn the ball in and Head Referee Rubiel Vazquez sounded the whistle for half-time.
Second Half
The second half saw the Union flip the script.
Philly were able to score two goals in quick succession. Daniel Gazdag gave them the lead. Sullivan, driving in from the left, cut the ball to his right foot, and delivered an in-swinging ball to the back post. Gazdag had to stretch, but he was able to re-direct the ball from an acute angle past Gallese.
Then it was Uhre’s turn.
The Danish striker scored a rare goal from outside the box. Lions defender David Brekhalo, under pressure from Baribo, played a dangerous ball to Rodrigo Schlegel who miscontroled it. Uhre was first to pounce. He wasted no time, hitting a first time shot from just in front of the ‘D’ that caught Gallese by surprise.
After just six minutes of play, it was 3-1 Union.
In response, Orlando head coach Oscar Pareja brought on Colombian international Luis Muriel and homegrown player Alex Freeman.
The Lions started to turn up the heat. Orlando came close to pulling one back in the 62nd minute. A free kick, about 40 yards out, saw Martín Ojeda’s delivery find an open Freeman, but the homegrown’s header clanged off the crossbar.
In the 64th minute, the Union struck again. Baribo started the attack with a pass to Gazdag. The Hungarian slipped a through ball to the onrushing Frankie Westfield. Westfield slotted a cross to Baribo and the Union’s new number 9 finished from close range to bag a brace. It was Westfield’s first MLS assist.
Carnell turned to his bench in the 71st minute, bringing on Alejandro Bedoya and Chris Donovan, and seemingly switching formations in an effort to stem the Orlando pressure and shut up shop.
In the 77th minute, Orlando had a massive chance. Freeman took the ball to the endline and squared a ball to Iván Angulo, who looked like he had an open net. However, his shot was blocked by the well positioned Westfield, saving a sure goal.
The Lions finally pulled one back through Pašalić in the 79th minute. After some lackluster defending by the Union on a set piece, Pašalić turned in the ball past Blake following a chaotic sequence where it hit the crossbar and the upright.
Carnell brought on further defensive reinforcements to see out the win, handing loanee Ian Glavinovich his debut and subbing on Olivier Mbazio for the young Westfield. With trauma from the 2024 season still fresh in the collectie consciousness of Union Land, Philly Phaithful might have been worried about a late collapse. However, the Boys in Blue were able to hold out and secured the first win of the 2025 MLS season.
3 Points
- Return to Winning Ways
- The Union took a strong first step in clearing away the miasma that has lingered from the past season or two. While it was only the first game, and although there are clearly areas to improve on, rallying to a comeback win is a good sign. It’s still early days but this result should give the new coach, his players, and the fans, some much-needed confidence.
- Carnell’s Carnage
- This was the world’s first official look at the new system that Carnell is employing. The initial use of the 4-2-2-2 seemed to work well, once the Union settled in. It did seem that the Orlando players were forced into making several key mistakes as a result of the Union’s press most notably on Philly’s first and third goals. The big question remains: Will it work in the long term?
- Home Grown Defenders
- How about that? Makhanya finally gets his Union debut. He was joined on the backline by fellow debutant Frankie Westfield. Both were standout performers for Union II last season. Both rose to the occasion and impressed in their Union debuts. That two of U II’s key players can make the transition to the first team after one offseason is a good sign for the Union pipeline.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-2-2-2):
Andre Blake, Kai Wagner, Jakob Glesnes, Olwethu Makhanya, Frankie Westfield (Mbaizo 88’), Danley Jean-Jacques, Jovan Lukić, Quinn Sullivan, Daniel Gazdag (Glavinovich 84’), Tai Baribo (Donovan 71’), Mikael Uhre (Bedoya 71’)
Unused Subs: Andrew Rick, Neil Pierre, Jeremy Rafanello, Jesús Bueno, Cavan Sullivan
Orlando City SC (4-2-3-1):
Pedro Gallese, Dagur Þórhallsson (Alex Freeman 56′), Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, Rafael Santos, Eduard Atuesta (Joran Gerbet 71′), César Araújo, Iván Angulo (Nicolás Rodríguez 80′), Martín Ojeda, Marco Pašalić, Ramiro Enrique (Luis Muriel 56′)
Unused Subs: Thomas Williams, Gustavo Cabarallo, Javier Otero, Colin Guske, Kyle Smith
Scoring Summary:
ORL – Marco Pašalić – 8′
PHI – Tai Baribo – 23′
PHI – Daniel Gazdag – 48′
PHI – Mikael Uhre – 51′
PHI – Tai Baribo – 64′
ORL – Marco Pašalić – 79′
Disciplinary Summary:
ORL – Araújo – 31′ (Yellow Card)
PHI – Mikael Uhre – 33′ (Yellow Card)
PHI – Lukić – 58′ (Yellow Card)
Westfield and Makhanya: tip o’the hat!
Jakob: I’m back!
Danley:”I got this”
Dre:”same”
Lukic:”I got your back”
Offense:”We’ll do our part”
Sure, it’s only one game let’s not get ahead of our skis here. But let’s also celebrate a statement game start to our season.
And hey…I sent $15 to FanDuel and they put $118 in my pocket. Let’s hear it for hope and optimism!
Westfield, Lukic, and Makhanya all impressed. But man that delivery from Sullivan… chef’s kiss. Pretty much everyone had a really good game. (cough Donovan)
I would not be surprised if Quinny has another break-out season, and he’s in Europe this time next year.
Donovan was put on to spend 28 minutes as a single striker trying to breakup Orlando’s ability to build out of the back with dirty running.
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Two strikers came off, only one substituted on.
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Coach Carnell did what he did several times at St. Louis, he changed to a more defensive formation to protect a lead late in the game.
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A Chris Donovan strength is his ability to run as a defending striker.
I’m going to say it. Winning 4-2 on the road to open the season is a hell of an accomplishment BUT didn’t we see one coach get shit canned for bringing in Chris Donovan and Alejandro Bedoya last season instead of betting the youth? Cavan. Go press the shit out of them see if you can turn them over. Jeremy go press the shit out of them… Cavan gets a shot off his left foot and puts it where the sliders sleep while Christine Donovan was too afraid to hit it with his left then coughed it up. I dare anyone to argue otherwise.
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I’ll just leave it there.
Agreed. That’s the Donovan we know and lo… err, know.
For the record Donovan also kept them onside during panic that became the second goal.
*SPIDERS
I agree and made a comment to this effect in the in-game chain. Perhaps he felt Bedoya and Donovan were better options to protect the lead in game 1, and it was sort of a nod to their hard work in the past, and we’ll see more of the young guns going forward? Throw them in games we’re losing so they have something to prove- those were the situations where Curtin’s conservatism always bugged me the most.
To be fair, I thought Bedoya was great. I can think of at least 4 defensive interventions he made at a time when Orlando was really piling on the pressure, plus he was his usual composed self on the ball.
Chris Donovan is simply not an MLS caliber player. Bedoya, OTOH, looked excellent in his 20 minutes and made several fine plays. I’m fine with giving Ale 20 minutes a game.
Donovan will not play once Daniani is in the team so that solves that problem. And if he does, then we should all be wrecking Carnell.
Please remember that International breaks are coming.
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Baribo is a starter for the Israeli national team when healthy. Gazdag is a reserve for the Hungarian one.
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According to the MLS Player Availability report, Anderson was “out” with an ankle injury.
First time seeing the new kits in motion. Dark blue letters and numbers on the away blue is not working. I objectively couldn’t tell you who was who on the field unless it was close up. Why not go yellow again like the ByU it’s shamelessly copying?
Agreed. They look cool up close, but don’t work at all on television (an issue given they’ll largely be worn for away matches). Flip the numbers to yellow or white
I think the important part is that we win with these. We didn’t win with the camo crap kit.
I thought Bedoya looked old and slow.
Well…that worked out.. still, give it six games. That’s the rough number before you start hardcore judging. But a good start, boys!
Well, that was an exciting start to the season. Keep in mind that before tonight, visitors were 0 for Orlando in the last 10 opening matches (3-7-0), so the Union definitely have started on the front foot. Here are my observations from in front of the television:
1) The Union looked lethal on the counter. In addition to the two goals they scored, they had another 3-4 chances that looked dangerous.
2) The game changed after Uhre’s goal on the giveaway. The Brits call it a “howler.” It was a gift and Uhre buried it—well done!
3) Although Danley is no Jose Martinez, he played credibly in the midfield. The Union were at their best when he kept the ball rolling.
4) The Union were shaky on defense. Andre Blake wiped away 4 chances by stellar goalkeeping, but it is hard to win games when the defense concedes 2 goals and many more good chances. The Union did not effectively close down attacks from the outside, although they did prevent attacks down the middle.
5) The Union subs did not seem effective to me. For sure, Orlando needed to press up and the subs were under attack, but the defense seemed to become even more timid.
All in all, this was a fantastic result in Bradley Carnell’s first game as coach. For at least the first week of the season, we can entertain hope that the team will reach its potential.
A bit of a fortunate result, but ultimately, you need to be able to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves and the Union did that in a big way last night. Loved watching it and hopefully they can take some confidence from this win to build on for the home opener.
Looks like the first year Carnell voodoo of opposing defenses handing over goals is alive and well! Hope we get as many of those as St. Louis did in their first year!
Yup, so true
Liked the response and final score from the boys. Came alive in the second half to put Orlando on their heels. A good away win and confidence building game!
Westfield,Lukic and Makhanya looking like they belong. Hopefully we see better subs at home!
Went to the game. As was said, the Union looked a little lost the first 20 minutes of the game. We sat very close to end line in the 3rd row so we got to see the Blake Magic in the second half. As long as he stays healthy the Union have a chance every game. Orlando fans and team were in shock after the Union 3rd goal. Great start but I think Orlando is not going to be good this year. Nice road win.!
The score line flattered us some — xG was in Orlando’s favor 3.2 to 2.2. However, that’s on Gazdag for a phenomenal finish, Uhre for his assassin-like dispatch, and, of course, Brick Wall Blake.
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It’s gonna take time for our defense to gel. Lukic & Danley have to learn to play together, plus 2 new guys on the back line. Makhanya looked bad on their second goal but overall had a good match. And where did this Westfield kid come from? He was quite good!
The xG also had some serious game state effects going on. A lot of those Orlando garbage time chances inflated that number.
The garbage time defending reminded me of games in 2022 where the other team is just throwing everything at us, but somehow the U do just enough to make the shots miss or ping off the post. I appreciated Carnell changing formation to protect the lead. It’s a shame Donovan’s decision making cost us a few good opportunities late on.
The Union hd 4 shots on target and 4 goals. Pedro Gallese had zero saves.
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Blake had six saves.
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The Union’s attacking four played together a lot last year. Orlando’s attackers are newer in playing together.
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Westfield and Makhanya started because they are both 90 minutes game fit and their positions competition was not close to 90 minutes ready. Getting Glavinovich ready will probably take three weeks. Once Harriel is ready for all aspects of practice, it will take him a comparable length of time.
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Both Blake (1st goal) and Gallesse (2nd goal) were beaten on the short side at the same end of the field. Was there something in the background that might have caused both of them to have trouble picking up the ball?
Great win all around! I think our 3 new players who started (Lukic, Westfield, & Makhanya) all did fine. Everyone was a little shaky in the early part of the game but quickly got into the flow. The 4 up top (Baribo, Uhre, Gazdag & Quinn Sullivan) were great. Agree with one of the other comments that Quinn’s pass into the box on which Gazdag scored was a “Chef’ Kiss”! Blake was amazing and saved several sure goals. While I would have like to see Cavan come into the game, I thought both Bedoya and Donovan did well coming in off the bench. Donovan ran his butt off.
One thing that’s still a problem is the refereeing. Did The Union really deserve 20 fouls vs. Orlando’s 6? It’s not like Orlando wasn’t dishing it out – I saw our guys go down plenty of times and hardly anything was called, while a number of Orlando players deserve Oscar nominations for faking being hit and falling during the game and they got fouls called. Also not sure why 6 extra time minutes were added to the end of the game except to give Orlando a chance to even up the score.
The Apple commentators were definitely in the bag for Orlando. They had plenty of good things to say about Orlando and expected the Union to lose. They were NOT expecting the Union would be able to compete, let alone win the game.
On a related note, it seems like the MLS and Apple TV are at it again doing everything in their power to help Miami win the MLS cup. The final goal that allowed Miami to tie up the game against the Red Bulls sure looked like it was offsides, and the Apple Commentators didn’t even mention it. Plus Miami’s tying goal came late during the 11 extra minutes added at the end of the game. This was putting MLS’s thumb on the scale ensuring Miami would have a chance to tie at minimum (which they did) and maybe tip it to a win.
All I really want is for ALL games to be fair.