Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union

The Philadelphia Union’s press smothered a shaky Atlanta United en route to a 3-0 win – despite playing down a man for the final 34 minutes after a foolish Lukic red card. Here are our ratings:

Player Ratings: 

GK Andre Blake – 7.5

Stood tall when called upon, including with a classic acrobatic Blake save on a close-range header from Miranchuk in the 77th minute.

RB Frankie Westfield – 6

Another quietly competent performance for the young Homegrown. Set up Damiani with a nice chance in the 44th minute, but the big striker was unable to put his attempt on target.

CB Jakob Glesnes – 6

An improvement from recent games, but there were still a few shaky moments where his lack of agility let an Atlanta player beat him to the ball. Did a good job organizing the Union defense to catch Atlanta offside all night long.

CB Nate Harriel – 7

Harriel put in a great effort playing out of position at center-back, showing a combination of aggression and poise that one would expect from a much more experienced player. He probably isn’t a long-term solution to the Union’s center-back woes, but tonight he was excellent.

LB Kai Wagner – 8

Although he didn’t add to his assist tally, Wagner was involved in all three Union goals on the night. And on the other end of the field, Wagner put in a typically tenacious effort defensively to lock down Miguel Almiron and Brooks Lennon.

DM Jovan Lukic – 3

Lukic played well when he was on the field. But boy were those two very dumb yellow cards. Luckily, it didn’t end up costing the team anything.

DM Danley Jean-Jacques – 8

All over the field defensively, played simple in possession, and took his goal well with a cheeky (if a bit fortunate) finish through Brad Guzan’s legs. Perhaps his best game for the Union so far?

AM Indiana Vassilev – 6

Vassilev was more involved offensively this week, picking out his teammates with several decent crosses and passes in dangerous positions. The Union still need more output from Vassilev going forward, but there’s no doubt that his ceaseless movement helped the Union’s press to smother Atlanta tonight.

AM Quinn Sullivan – 7.5

Sullivan finally found his finishing boots, scoring a lovely volley past Guzan in the 27th minute. Sulivan added an assist on Baribo’s late goal, and once again looked the most involved and creative Union attacker throughout the match. It isn’t always perfect, but Sullivan consistently brings a Clint Dempsey-esque willingness to “try shit.”

FWD Mikael Uhre – 6

Uhre was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet with his great run and curling left-footer that rang the crossbar in the 29th minute. Set up the Union’s second goal with a smart, simple assist to Danley.

FWD Bruno Damiani – 5

Some good moments of hold-up play, but ultimately was not very involved. These are still very early days for the Uruguayan, but you hope to see more from the Union’s record signing.

Substitutes:

(61’) Olwethu Malahkanya – 6

Came on in the immediate aftermath of the red card and helped shore up the Union defense for the rest of the game.

(74’) Tai Baribo – 7.5

Re-established his lead in the Golden Boot race with another strong headed goal. It was an interesting experiment playing him off the bench, but should probably go from the start next game.

(85’) Alejandro Bedoya – n/a

Wasn’t very involved.

(85’) Jeremy Rafanello – n/a

Was slightly more involved than Bedoya. But only slightly.

Geiger Counter

Allen Chapman – 4

Sending off Lukic was technically correct, but still felt harsh. Beyond that Chapman made a number of strange decisions all night, including bizarrely waiting to stop the game for injury until Quinn Sullivan was clean through on a breakaway in the 60th minute.

Player of the Match – Danley Jean-Jacques

A number of strong contenders tonight, including Sullivan and Wagner, but let’s celebrate Danley’s first MLS goal and stellar defensive effort.

What’s Next

This was an important win to right the ship after a rocky few weeks. The Union will look to build on this at home next week against the struggling DC United.