Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union came up short on a cold, wet night at Yankee Stadium, falling 1-0 to NYCFC. With Andre Blake out with an abductor injury, Homegrown Andrew Rick made his second start of the season. Although Rick made some smart saves, it was ultimately his mistake that left an empty net for Alonso Martinez to slot in the game’s only goal. On the other side, the Union’s offense created some danger, but couldn’t find a decisive moment to beat former Union Homegrown Matt Freese.
First Half
After a slight delay to the kickoff as the referees dealt with a hole in one of the goal nets, it was NYCFC who had the first major chance in the 12th minute. Some dangerous play down the left flank left Kevin O’Toole alone to make a good cross into the box. Kai Wagner slipped on his attempted clearance and the ball fell to Hannes Wolf, but Rick made an impressive save to keep the match level.
The Union made another big stop six minutes later in the 19th minute; this time, it was Lukic, sliding to block a shot from Mitja Ilenic.
Second Half
NYCFC broke the deadlock in the 55th minute. Alonso Martinez made a dangerous run in behind Nathan Harriel and Olwethu Makhanya on the Union backline, and Mitja Ilenic picked him out with long ball up the sideline. Rick came out to challenge but misjudged his timing, allowing Martinez to touch the ball around him and pass it into the net.
The Union made a number of changes to try to get back into the match. In the 66th minute Bradley Carnell shifted to a three forward formation, with Mikael Uhre coming on for Danley Jean Jacques. Then in the 75th Alejandro Bedoya and Chris Donovan came on for Quinn Sullivan and Bruno Damiani.
In the 80th minute Harriel found Donovan in the box, but Freese easily saved Donovan’s header.
Carnell made his last gambit in the 87th minute, subbing off Makhanya for Frankie Westfield and pushing Nathan Harriel to center-back.
PSP’s 3 Points
- Quiet Night From Vassilev: All eyes were on Indiana Vassilev as the young American stepped into the lineup in place of Daniel Gazdag. Vassilev had a quiet night as the Union offense struggled without its all-time top scorer.
- Cooling Off: After a terrific start to the season, the Union have just one win in their last five games, and haven’t scored in either of the past two.
- Sullivan a Bright Spot: Quinn Sullivan can be a divisive player, but he stepped up in the absence of Gazdag, facilitating most of the Union’s best attacking plays on the night. Although his final ball remains frustratingly inconsistent, the decision to sub him off while chasing a goal late was a perplexing one.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union: Andrew Rick; Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya (Frankie Westfield 86’), Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel; Jovan Lukic, Danley Jean Jacques (Mikael Uhre 66’), Quinn Sullivan (Alejandro Bedoya 75’), Indiana Vassilev; Bruno Damiani (Chris Donovan 75’), Tai Baribo.
Substitutes not used: Oliver Semmle, Neil Pierre, Jesus Bueno, Jeremy Rafanello, Cavan Sullivan.
New York City FC: Matthew Freese ; Kevin O’Toole, Thiago Martins, Justin Haak, Mitja Ilenic; Maxi Morález (Julián Fernández 75’), Jonathan Shore, Keaton Parks; Agustin Ojeda (Birk Risa 86’), Alonso Martínez, Hannes Wolf (Monsef Bakrar 86’).
Substitutes not used: Tayvon Gray, Andrés Perea, Nico Cavallo, Tomas Romero , Strahinja Tanasijevic, Greg Ranjitsingh.
GOALS/ASSISTS
NYC – A. Martínez (Ilenic) 55’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
PHI – Olwethu Makhanya (caution) 33’
PHI – Frankie Westfield (caution) 90+3’
What a week, huh? It’s really tough to take this club serious sometimes.. especially when they’re down a goal and bring on Chris Donovan. It’s not his fault they didn’t win, but he represents this club’s complete lack of ambition.
Well said.
The players seem to care, but they are only so good. It’s the ownership that won’t invest.
So hard to remain a fan.
That was boring. Other than Quinn there is no creativity. Gonna be a long season. I hope they spend some of the money earned on the first team
Uhh…anyone have a good reason Cavan didn’t get into the game? He was subbed at halftime of the Union 2 match for the purpose of getting some playing time I assumed…Subbing Donovan into the game is just irritating to massive levels now…First half was fine, but second half we lost the plot big time. Only slight benefit given because of the awful narrow pitch.
This team is boring to watch.
If they were terrible it would be perverse pleasure in watching that.
But this team is just a bunch of dudes running around… Doing stuff
Am I the only one who thought Martinez was offside on that goal? Obviously the refs didn’t think so, but it seemed clear from the TV angles he was a couple steps past Harriel before the ball got there. Or are the TV angles really that bad?
.
And why are the broadcasters (it seems all of them) still so hung up on showing long shots of the coaches instead of getting back to the play on the pitch?
Harriel kept him on. He was behind the CB’s all night, Danny H called it out on another ball NYCFC played over the top earlier in the match.
Chris Donovan? Really? Vassilev is useless. Bedoya is spent. Sugarman & Tanner fired Curtin and brought on Carnell who is just as committed to playing guys who are NOT difference-makers. Unbelievable.
Give Vassilev some time. He has great potential, but was thrown into the fire here on a terrible pitch following the Gazdag trade.
And that was a brutal mistake by Rick who looked way in over his head all game.
Sullivan needs to buy some finishing shoes. Donovan needs to go away. Bedoya is cooked. Glesnes looks slow and awkward. Vassilev either needs more time to acclimate or he is no playmaker. How are Carney’s tactics different that Curtin’s, bringing on Bedoya and Donovan as late “game changers”? C’mon Sugarman/Tanner, throw us a bone….?!?
+1 this is parks abd recs soccer. There were zero times the Union connected on more then 2 consecutive passes. Vassilev sucks, Damianni is 3 million dollar bust so far. The offense has no rhythm. It took Leeds United of seeing Jesse Marche try to run this garbage before they sent him packing. There is absolutely no calmness on the ball and no plan to move the ball into a scoring position through tje midfield. KEYSTONE COPS
Can’t learn much from a soccer game on a baseball field.
Agreed.
The lack of speed at every level is noticeable. They cannot pass or receive a pass at a pro level. The Coach had never worked on pitch conditions that restricted-and it showed. Should have changed the formation after a half hour of getting dog walked. Couldn’t find a decent shot. Silly the Kid ended any hopes. Biggest thing: those guys looked demoralized and done from minute 1.
In my opinion it was a difficult match to watch – perhaps partly because of the cold and damp conditions and the size of the field …
Things may change for the better over the next few matches however I am now concerned that there is not enough attacking quality to create goal scoring opportunities with DG no longer on the team. Yes – we will miss his goals and assists. We will also miss his runs and other off-the-ball contributions which opened up opportunities for others. The most dangerous opportunities last night seemed to come from Kai and Quinn’s crosses, corners and set pieces – of which there was not much from a finishing standpoint
Also – the back line needs help. Although I revere Glesnes and his past play he seems to be clearly overmatched now by faster players. I think that Makanya is talented but still is rather raw. Over time I think he can be more than adequate. He would benefit from a stronger center back partner.
If the above doesn’t improve significantly by the summer window Ernst will need to look for some upgrades – if not sooner!
The last few games have been incredibly boring to watch. My biggest issue is watching this chaotic style of play that I don’t believe suits the team well at all. The only way this high press will work is if you have an excellent defense which they don’t and they haven’t invested in. In 2022 when they made MLS cup goals per game were .76 which was excellent and last year in ‘24 was 1.62 which was horrible. Because the team can’t posses the ball at all, literally can’t string together more than 3 passes, the defense is always on their heels. And unfortunately no one back their right now can win a foot race and it leaves us vulnerable. It’s painful just watching them boot the ball, turning it over, and repeat this 25x a game. You need to be strong defensively, posses the ball, and be able to transition. But I don’t see this happening with this team unfortunately.
Other thoughts:
Baribo pairs better with Uhre rather than Damiani
Danley is average and doesn’t have that bulldog in him like Martinez
Quinn is great to watch and I hope he keeps thriving