A heavily rotated Philadelphia Union side fought to a 1-1 draw in Houston on Saturday night. It was an ugly, chippy game that featured two penalties overturned by VAR and not a ton of nice soccer, and the Union will probably feel content heading back to Philly with a point.

Here are the ratings.

Player Ratings

Andrew Rick – 7

Did well to stay big on Houston’s breakaway chance in the 20th minute. Spilled a tricky McGlynn shot in the 29th, but had a brilliant kick-save on the (offside) follow-up.

Olivier Mbaizo – 5.5

Took an early yellow on a soft foul and completed just 60% of his passes. Mbaizo had to be taken off in the second half to avoid a possible sending-off.

Jakob Glesnes – 7.5

Dominant defensively in the first-half. Glesnes won’t get an assist on the Union’s goal, but it was a brilliant ball to set up the chance.

Nathan Harriel – 6

Harriel was unlucky to give away the foul that, on VAR, overturned the Union’s potential game-winning penalty. Was otherwise solid once again at center-back.

Frankie Westfield – 5.5

Westfield was very solid defensively and won a number of hard fouls, but let himself get baited into a silly red card in stoppage time. Hopefully a learning experience for the young player.

Jovan Lukic – 6

Lukic was one of the few regulars in the starting eleven, but it was a quiet performance from the Serbian midfielder. Lukic completed just 68% of his passes before coming off at halftime.

Jesus Bueno – 5

Bueno’s dangerous set-piece delivery was valuable throughout in what was a chippy, physical game. But he gave the crucial penalty away with a silly handball, and took the ball off Tai Baribo’s head on a late chance.

Alejandro Bedoya – 7

There were a number of moments of veteran savvy in the attack from the Captain, most notably staying alive on the back post for the Union’s only goal of the game.

Jeremy Rafenello – 6

A mostly anonymous performance in a rare start for Rafanello, before coming off late in a slightly dubious concussion substitution.

Mikael Uhre – 5

Uhre had just sixteen touches and one shot before coming off at halftime.

Bruno Damiani – 7

No goal, but this was one of Damiani’s better games to my eye. Damiani battled hard, won fouls (and should have won a penalty), played well in possession, and just missed on a couple of headed chances.

Substitutes: 

(46′) Tai Baribo – 5.5

If Baribo isn’t scoring, he doesn’t tend to have much impact on the game. He did not score tonight.

(46′) Olwethu Makhanya – 6.5

Makhanya put in another good performance; he was strong defensively, and drove possession forward on the dribble when necessary.

(46′) Danley Jean Jacques – 6

Buzzed around the field, but wasn’t terribly involved as the game devolved in the second half.

(58′) Kai Wagner – 7.5

This guy is so good. How is he not an All-Star? (Edit – after writing Kai Wagner was added to the All-Star Roster. Well deserved!)

(73′) Indiana Vassilev – N/A

(90′) Quinn Sullivan – N/A

Geiger Counter

Rosendo Mendoza – 2.5

This was a tough game to watch, and that largely came down to the refereeing. Mendoza called constant fouls (a total of 44 on the night), ruining any possible flow the game could have had. He capped off the night with the perplexing VAR decision to call off a Union penalty for a soft foul by Harriel much earlier in the play.

Player of the Match – Alejandro Bedoya

The captain does it again, scoring the Union’s only goal and going 73 minutes on a hot night in Houston.

What’s Next?

The Philadelphia Union return to Subaru Park to face the Colorado Rapids next Saturday, July 26.