Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union

In a rare Sunday afternoon matchup, the Philadelphia Union faced Nashville SC at Subaru Park. The Union’s playstyle was figured out, and two controversial VAR decisions took one penalty from the Union and gave another to Nashville. Former Union and US Men’s National Team assistant coach BJ Callaghan led his Nashville side to a 3-1 victory at Subaru Park.

Bradley Carnell fielded an identical starting lineup to the Union’s previous matches this season. It is the first time since 2022 that the club has put out the same lineup four consecutive times. This means another short-term loan for off-roster homegrown Frankie Westfield. The team has used four of his six allotted call-ups before they must move him to a supplemental roster spot. 

A notable change on the bench was goalkeeper Oliver Semmle in over Andrew Rick. Rick has been the first-choice keeper for Union II for more than a year, so he was likely given the night off to rest before the second team’s match against New York Red Bulls II on Monday evening. Ian Glavinovich was also absent, as he is still working his way back from a hamstring injury.

First Half

The match began with some very physical play between both sides, and both teams drew a couple of fouls. Through the first ten minutes, the Union were able to get into Nashville’s box, but could not put it past goalkeeper Joesph Willis. Nashville had its share of attacking chances as well, but they failed to penetrate past the Union’s defensive line. Nashville had two goals in three matches before this match and had an urgency to open the scoring. 

Attacker Sam Surridge did just that in the fifteenth minute after dribbling through Frankie Westfield and Jakob Glesnes inside the Union’s box. Westfield appeared to slip on the turf after tracking back to stop Surrdige, and Glesnes was early on his attempt to block the impending shot. 

The Union countered quickly after the restart, but Quinn Sullivan was brought down for the second time without a foul called by referee Pierre-Luc Laauziere. Just minutes later, Surridge found himself with the ball inside the Union’s six again, but this time, Olwethu Makhanya was able to make a sliding challenge to stop him.

The defensive line moved high during the Union’s time in possession, leaving Surridge with an easy one-on-one footrace with Makhanya. The South African got beat, but the Englishman’s shot hit the post after Andre Blake came off his line, deflected around in the six-yard box, and was ultimately cleared for a corner by Kai Wagner.

The Union brought themselves back into the game in spectacular fashion, with another incredible long-range shot by Jovan Lukic after the ball was cleared by Nashville on a Union corner. The Serbian is fitting in just fine with his new club, and he looked confident on and off the ball. 

Just before stoppage time, Nashville’s Ahmed Qasem beat Jakob Glesnes en route to a long ball, and calmly slotted it to Blake’s back post. Again, the line had been moved up to press Nashville in their half, and Glesnes was not fast enough. 

Second Half

Philadelphia controlled possession coming out of the locker room as they sought to find an equalizer. Chances came, but they did not capitalize when they needed to. 

In the 60th minute, Quinn Sullivan was brought down in the box while attempting to cross to Uhre in the center. The call on the field was a goal kick, but after going to the monitor for a lengthy review, the referee did not change his decision. Play continued without notable opportunities for either side, but remained to be very physical. Kai Wagner was on the receiving end of two hard challenges. The first had him wincing on his ankle, and the second required him to seek attention for his right knee. He was able to return to the pitch. 

Jakob Gleses was involved in a head-to-head collision with Hany Mukhtar in the 77th minute, and VAR decided to give a penalty to Nashville while both players were still receiving treatment. Hany Mukhtar returned to the pitch to convert the penalty. He almost got another goal after the restart after catching the Union defense asleep and pulling Andre Blake off of his line. 

The Union finished the match visibly frustrated eleven minutes of stoppage. In the ninth minute of those eleven, substitute Chris Donovan was brought down inside the box, and the Union were finally gifted their penalty. Usual penalty taker Daniel Gazdag had been subbed off already, so Quinn Sullivan was allowed to step up to the spot. His penalty was saved by Joseph Willis, as was the subsequent rebound. 

And as if the saved penalty was not enough salt in the wound, center-back Olwethu Makhanya received a red card for throwing the ball at the face of an opponent after being knocked out of bounds. The lashing out was reminiscent of what got him sent off in the MLS Next PRO final against North Texas last November. 

Three Points:

•  Tai Baribo shut down: Nashville’s captain, Walker Zimmerman, was within touching distance of Tai Baribo on almost every one of the Union’s attacking possessions. Baribo was unable to get on the end of set pieces and crosses and was rarely open to receive the ball on the ground.
• Defending mishaps: The Union’s back line spent their time out of possession pressing high up the field and were often drawn out of position by Nashville’s attacking midfielders. Makhanya’s pace saved them once, but both Nashville goals were scored on occasions where a defender was not quick enough to track back.  Although it did not cause any issues, the Union’s defensive clearances, especially headers, tended to go towards the touchlines as opposed to up the field. These clearances were more often than not recovered by Nashville, who were able to continue possession. 
• Jovan Lukic: Despite the result, Lukic had another decent match with his new club. He commanded the Union midfield alongside Danley Jean-Jacques and looked confident on both sides of the ball. If there is one positive to take out of the loss, it is Lukic’s ability to fit in with his new squad.

Lineups

Philadelphia

Andre Blake, Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Frankie Westfield (Nathan Harriel– 65”), Jovan Lukic, Daniel Gazdag (Alejandro Bedoya– 84”) , Danley Jean Jacques (Indiana Vassilev– 73”), Mikeal Uhre (Bruno Damiani– 65”), Tai Baribo (Chris Donovan– 84” )

Unused subs: Oliver Semmle, Cavan Sullivan, Jesus Bueno, Olivier Mbaizo

Opponent

Joseph Willis, Daniel Lovitz, Jack Maher, Walker Zimmerman, Andy Najar (Joshua Bauer– 84”), Patrick Yazbek (Gaston Brugman– 84”), Hany Mukhtar (Teal Bunbury– 90+”), Alexandre Muyl, Edvard Sandvik Tagseth, Ahmed Qasem (Jacob Shaffleburg– 73”), Sam Surridge

Unused Subs: Jeisson Palacios, Matthew Corcoran, Taylor Washington, Jonathan Perez, Brian Schwake

Scoring Summary:

NSH: Surridge–  15”

PHI: Lukic– 33”

NSH: Qasem– 44”

NSH: Mukhtar– 83”

Discipline Summary:

NSH: Yazbek–  45+”

NSH: Tagseth– 87”

PHI: Wagner– 88”

PHI: Damiani– 90+”

PHI: Makhanya– 90+” (RED CARD)

Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere