Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union welcomed Liga MX side Atlas FC to the Soob on the banks of the Delaware River for a mid-season international friendly. The Boys in Blue, wearing their “electricity” blue and yellow kit, brought a 21-man roster to the pitch – a mixture of first-team starters and reserves, bolstered by a plethora of Union II players. With Andre Blake away with Jamaica and Andrew Rick with the U.S. U-19s, Oliver Semmle got his first first-team start of the season. Lined up in front of him were Kai Wagner at left back, Olwethu Makhanya and Jakob Glesnes as center backs, and Olivier Mbaizo at right back. The midfield lined up from left to right with Ben Bender, Jeremey Raffanello, Jesus Beuno, and captain Alejandro Bedoya. Chris Donovan and Bruno Damiani led the front line.
The bench was filled out with keeper Mike Sheridan, defenders Neil Pierre and Isaiah LeFlore, midfielders Nick Pariano, Jovan Lukic, Indiana Vassilev, and Leandro Soria, and forwards Stas Korzeniowski, Markus Anderson, and Eddy Davis III.
How The Match Unfolded
A relatively uneventful first half finished scoreless with few chances coming from either side. The Union looked the better of the sides, but couldn’t string together any real sustained possession. The Union had their best chance of the half in first-half stoppage time. Only swift reaction from Atlas in the final seconds kept the match even as the whistle blew.
The second half started with a slew of new faces on the pitch. Forward Anderson, midfielders Pariano and Lukic, and defenders Pierre and LeFlore came off the bench to start the second half. Pariano, Pierre and LeFlore made their first-team debuts. Right from the whistle, the Union started strong, with 21-year-old Brooklyn native Anderson scoring the first goal of the match. Anderson’s effort turned the game in the Union’s direction, kicking off an energetic second half. Semmle came up big a few minutes later, making a save in the 49′ minute to keep Atlas off the scoreboard.
In the 61′ the Union continue made a few more changes, as Homegrown forward Eddy Davis III and forward Stas Korzeniowski took the field for their first ever club minutes. Unfortunately, a minute later saw Atlas forward Diego Luis Gonzalez get around LeFlore and in on Semmle, where he slotted a shot past the goalkeeper for the tying goal
Minutes later, however, in the 65′, saw Davis III take a pass from Vassillev and put it past the Atlas keeper into the corner of the net to restore the Union’s lead. The 78′ saw Soria subbed on for Rafanello to add some fresh legs to the squad. Semmle came up big with a one-handed save to keep the Union in front. After five minutes of injury time, the second half came to a close as the Union came up victorious in an exciting 2-1 triumph in the international friendly.
PSP’s 3 Points
- A heavily rotated squad: Semmle made the most of his first start, making saves when needed. The Union’s two goals were scored by Anderson making his season debut and Davis III making his team debut.
- Playing time: The Union saw 20 players get playing time; only backup keeper Sheridan failed to see the pitch.
- Injury free: Despite some chippy moments, and more than a few yellow cards on both sides, the Union appeared to escape the mid-season friendly with no additional injuries, which is helpful with the amount of players away on international duty.
It was as intended, a friendly. U2 prospects and/or first team bench players obtained useful experience and it kept everyone fit and sharp through the international break.
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The Union played on Thursday in a closed door friendly against Auckland in a warm-up for their upcoming FIFA CWC appearance.
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This was a smart usage of time and opportunity for keeping and gaining edges for future matches that mean something.
This game should never have happened. Unlike the friendly in August against Frankfurt, Atlas is not in preseason training. The only thing that could result is injuries like happened to Brek Shea in a friendly several years ago. Jeremy Rafanello did leave the game injured, although I’m hoping based on the no injuries point above that it wasn’t serious.
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That being said, the Anderson goal was a beautiful shot from about 25 yards out that a lot of people who left at halftime (or weren’t back yet) missed. And has anyone started their Union career with a goal as quickly as Davis?