Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
Starting XI:
Andrew Rick – 7
The 19-year-old Homegrown delivered another solid performance, showing great reflexes with a key save in the 57th minute to deny a close-range shot. With Andre Blake missing from the roster after only one game back, Rick’s continued growth is a constant source of reassurance.
Nathan Harriel – 6.5
Played out of position at centerback and adjusted reasonably well. Not flashy, but did the dirty work against a shorthanded Dallas attack.
Kai Wagner – 7.5
Provided width and consistency on the left flank. While his crosses didn’t lead to goals, his energy and defensive work rate contributed to keeping Dallas pinned back in the second half.
Olwethu Makhanya – 7
Makhanya helped anchor the defense, especially when Dallas tried to break on the counter. His positioning and timing played a helpful role in keeping the clean sheet.
Frankie Westfield – 6.5
Defensively sound but faded slightly in the second half with limited offensive influence.
Jesus Bueno – 6
Started the match but was subbed off at halftime. Did a lot of running and helped the Union control midfield transitions early, though he lacked impact in the final third.
Alejandro Bedoya – 6.5
Tried to spark the attack with a clever set piece run in the first half but couldn’t convert. Worked hard, especially in defensive phases, before being subbed off in the 72nd minute.
Ben Bender – 6
Made his first start and is obviously still developing chemistry with teammates. An overall quiet debut.
Danley Jean Jacques – 6
Put in a solid defensive shift but offered little going forward. Did well to recover possession a few times but was subbed off as the Union pushed for more attacking impetus.
Mikael Uhre – 6
Only lasted 37 minutes before being subbed off due to injury. Drew a yellow card in a dangerous area but didn’t have much opportunity to impact the match.
Chris Donovan – 6
Energetic and physical, especially in the first half where he drew a red card on Abubakar and nearly scored with a header early on. Still, lacked sharpness in front of goal and was subbed off after the hour mark.
Substitutes:
(37′) Bruno Damiani – 6.5
Came closest to scoring with a powerful header off the post. Provided energy and physicality but just couldn’t find the breakthrough—with only 2 goals in 16 matches, the pressure is mounting for Damiani to unleash his potential.
(45′) Jovan Lukic – 7
Forced a quality save in the 67th minute. Helped settle midfield and push the tempo in the second half.
(63′) Tai Baribo – 6
Worked hard off the ball but struggled to find meaningful touches in the box. Was part of the final attacking wave but lacked the final touch.
(63′) Indiana Vassilev – 7
Came on with purpose, moving the ball quickly and trying to unlock Dallas’s low block. Didn’t register a major chance but improved Union’s possession play.
(72′) Quinn Sullivan – 6.5
Brought in to provide creativity late. Had a few neat dribbles and delivered a couple of teasing balls, but like the rest of the squad, couldn’t find the winner.
Geiger Counter – Sergii Boiko- 7
Boiko got the major early decision right, issuing a second yellow and red card to Lalas Abubakar in the 39th minute after a reckless challenge on Chris Donovan—a call that clearly changed the momentum of the match. However, his consistency seemed to waver after that moment.
Player of the Match – Kai Wagner
What’s Next….
Philadelphia Union is back in action next weekend as they kick off June with an international friendly with Liga MX side Atlas FC.
I think it’s good to be patient with Damiani. This is a consistently difficult league for goal scorers. Union have seen a lot of decent forwards fail to ever find their place. He could use more time. Hope he finds some form soon.
+1. Also, it is *very* common for transfers to MLS to take a season to find their footing, even high-level guys. I hope he starts to put it together, but he could also come on strong next season.
+1. It took Gazdag a year to settle in and find form. Baribo took around 8 months.
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Damiani gets himself into the right spots. He could have (should?) had at least one if not three goals against Dallas. He was a vintage Sean Johnson save from scoring a ridiculous volley against TFC in midweek. He was denied by Guzan in Atlanta.
Great points. The technique on that header too was impressive.
I would drop almost everyone except Uhre and Donovan by a point. Those two did the work 11 v 11 to eventually make it 11 v 10. But then the big money players like Damiani and Baribo couldn’t put it away despite being on the power play for over half the game. The only other one to keep their rating here would be Rick who managed to stay sharp when he needed to despite the temptation to take a nap in the Texas heat with the game off in the distance.
LOL, I came here to say that I would drop Donovan an Uhre by 1-2 points! Donovan missed a couple of chances, and Uhre never put himself in good enough position.
I thought Damiani’s misses were a lot worse than Donovan’s. And Donovan’s speed got them the man advantage. If someone said before the game that he would do that in the first half, we’d all take that from him. And I don’t recall Baribo doing anything positive.
Uhre is a big money player. His salary is probably the highest.
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Damiani’s transfer fee is highest, but I would be surprised if his salary is.
Uhre got hurt drawing a yellow card. Not going to ding him points for that.
Any word on Blake?
Yes. In his postgame press conference Bradley Carnell indicated Blake had been allowed to leave early for Jamaica to fulfill a family obligation. He said the rest of the retails are confidential.
One hand: drop them all 2-3 points. That was ugly.
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Other hand: unbeaten through 9 GAMES just in May, and say what you want about an extra man – if they put all remaining 10 players directly in front of the goal, the extra guy doesn’t really help
I know that he doesn’t get a lot of love on these comment pages, but Donovan was the best player out there that game. Flying around, making plays, pressing, drawing Red Cards. I hope that he starts getting more props here because he is not our problem at Forward. Rather, let’s expect more from the high profile (Damiani), record transfer, that can’t score/finish and has no stand up either. When Uhre isn’t scoring he’s at least still stretching the lines and can distribute in backed up stand up play. Props to Donovan. He is a great option off of the bench and probably lost some development due to his college career/competition level. This needing a year to learn MLS is absurd, too. Baribo didn’t gain any experience in live MLS games, being stuck on the bench, and came right in on fire. International teams have little experience with teammates, officials, and rarely played opponents, and they are expected to excel, or lose their National team slots. Let’s expect results from our record signings and give a little more recognition to the kid making 90K.
I’m in your camp on Donovan. Would I like an upgrade at the position? Sure, but he fits the team’s spending posture and plays well enough to allow rotation in a long season. We’re seeing more rotation than I ever recall since the team was born. Keeping the “A” team fresh hopefully keeps the results coming.
He’s a perfectly serviceable 4th striker working for a low salary in a league with a salary cap. I’m also fine with him in that role.
I have lived long enough to see a Chis Donovan Stan. Union fandom warps our brains in unique and unpredictable ways.
+1
Thanks for the input, Father Donovan.