Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union came from behind to defeat the Colorado Rapids on a warm summer night in Chester. The result puts the Union back on top in the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield race heading into the Leagues Cup break.
First Half
The Union were dominant throughout the first half, winning the possession battle and creating chance after chance, but were somehow unable to find the back of the net. In the 23rd minute a scrambling Steffen somehow saved a Damiani header and kept the Danley follow up from trickling over the line. Just two minutes later, Danley had another great chance from inside the six-yard box, but Sullivan’s cross ricocheted off his shin and over the cross-bar of the open net.
The Union’s finishing woes came back to bite them toward the end of the first half as Colorado opened the scoring. Cavin Harris won a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge against Kai Wagner, leading to a Colorado breakaway. Cole Bassett put the initial shot off the crossbar, but Rafael Navarro was there to head home the rebound.
Second Half
The Union continued to press in the second half, with close-range shots from Baribo and Sullivan drawing smart saves from Steffen. But the Union finally found their breakthrough in the 64th minute through their leading scorer. Wagner hooked a beautiful ball in after a short corner and Baribo was there to finish at the back post.
The Union continued to press, and found the winner through substitute Mikael Uhre in the 89th minute. Uhre collected the ball from Indiana Vassilev at the top of the box, touched away from the Rapids defenders, then rifled the ball into the far corner and passed a sprawling Steffen.
As the Rapids pressed for an equalizer in stoppage time, Uhre found space in behind for a second goal, running onto a throughball from Alejandro Bedoya and finishing through the legs of Steffen.
All Three Points
Steffen Heroics/Finishing Woes: The Union took 30 shots and drew 8 saves from Steffen. All credit to Steffen, he had a great night, but some of those were down to some dreadful Union misses.
Super-Sub Uhre: It’s been a tough year for Uhre, who entered the night with just two goals in nineteen MLS appearances this season. But tonight’s brace won the game for the Union, and pushed Uhre up to fourth-place on the all-time Union goalscoring chart. With his speed, Uhre could be a dangerous super-sub down the stretch.
Back On Top: This win, combined with Nashville’s loss last night and Cincinnati’s draw against Miami, puts the Union back on top of the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield race with nine games to go.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake; Olivier Mbaizo, Jakob Glesnes, Olwethu Makhanya, Kai Wagner, Jovan Lukic, Danley Jean Jacques, Indiana Vassilev (Jeremy Rafenello 94’), Quinn Sullivan (Alejandro Bedoya 73’), Bruno Damiani (Mikael Uhre 73’), Tai Baribo (Sal Olivas 92’)
Substitutes not used: Oliver Semmle, Andrew Rick, Chris Donovan, Neil Pierre, Jesús Bueno
Colorado Rapids: Zack Steffen; Reggie Cannon, Ian Murphy, Andreas Maxsø, Sam Vines, Joshua Atencio (Oliver Larraz 52’), Cole Bassett, Djordje Mihailovic, Ted Ku-Dipietro (Samuel Bassett 83’), Calvin Harris (Darren Yapi 75’), Rafael Navarro
Substitutes not used: Wayne Frederick, Nico Hansen, Keegan Rosenberry, Jackson Travis, Alex Harris
TODAY’S MATCH INFO
Referee: Malik Badawi
Assistant Referees: Jason White, Gianni Facchini
Fourth Official: Joshua Encarnacion
Weather: 80 degrees and partly cloudy
GOALS/ASSISTS
COL – Rafael Navarro (unassisted) 37’
PHI – Tai Baribo (Kai Wagner, Jovan Lukic) 64’
PHI – Mikael Uhre (Indiana Vassilev) 89’
PHI – Mikael Uhre (Alejandro Bedoya) 95’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
COL – Djordje Mihailovic (caution) 60’
COL – Reggie Cannon (caution) 69’
COL – Zack Steffen (caution) 79’
PHI – Tai Baribo (caution) 85’
They definitely need to work on their finishing, especially Danley, Lukic, and Makhanya who all missed from point blank range. They also need to avoid giving up so many counterattacks when they have that much possession.
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Good to see so much from Uhre. I think he is better coming off the bench as a sub against tired defenses. That’s when he gets most of his best chances, all the way back to what I think was his first goal for the team back in 2022 against New England.
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Also good that the only yellow was against Baribo (although it was a stupid one to take) who was not one of the 4 on the verge of suspension.
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Until the third Union goal, Steffan was much the better keeper tonight.
His first goal for the Union was also the first goal ever scored at Geodis Park. He scored against Nashville in 2022.
Thanks, Jay. I had forgotten the exact order of the games in May 2022.
Yes, Danley went Full Wondo and Lukic really should have scored on his second shot, but:
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The players you are asking to work on their finishing are your CDMs and a CB. Why are they the players making the runs to get into the position to take these shots? Why isn’t it the strikers or the midfielders higher up in the formation who should be better shot takers? Those players being in the opponent’s six yard box is why the team is so vulnerable to counter attacks.
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I know it’s the system. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Danley’s miss looked terrible until you realize in slo-mo that Quinn’s cross bounced up right before it got to him and struck him in the shin. There was probably little he could do about that one. Just bad luck.
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Makhanya’s miss sucked, but of course, he is a CB, not a striker.
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Now Lukic’s miss really hurt. It was right there for him. That should’ve been in the net. And it’s not his first flubbed chance. He’s the one who needs to work on finishing.
Updating from a post I made after the Houston game: With most teams having 9 games remaining, I thought I would look at the schedules of the top 5 teams in the east. The Union and Nashville are both still alive in the Open Cup. The other three teams all have the Leagues Cup with 3 to 6 games to play there.
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The Union have 2 games on the road against top 5 teams, 1 in each conference.
They have 4 games against teams in positions 6-10, 2 at home and 2 on the road.
They have 3 games against bottom 5 teams, 2 at home and 1 on the road.
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Cincinnati has 2 games against top 5 teams, both at home.
They have 5 games against middle 5 teams, 3 at home and 2 on the road.
They have 2 games against bottom 5 teams, 1 at home and 1 on the road.
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Nashville has 2 games against top 5 teams, 1 at home and 1 on the road.
They have 3 games against middle 5 teams, 1 at home and 2 on the road.
They have 4 games against bottom 5 teams, 2 at home and 2 on the road.
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Columbus has no games against top 5 teams.
They have 5 games against middle 5 teams, 1 at home and 4 on the road.
They have 4 games against bottom 5 teams, 2 at home and 2 on the road.
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Messi has 2 games against top 5 teams, 1 at home and 1 on the road.
He has 4 games against middle 5 teams, 1 at home and 3 on the road.
He has 6 games against bottom 5 teams, 4 at home and 2 on the road.
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Before the weekend I said that Columbus has the easiest schedule, but losing at home to Orlando doesn’t help them. They are now 5 points out of 2nd and 6 points out of 1st. The Union probably have the second easiest schedule. But Messi has to be a favorite with 3 games in hand and only 1 on the road against a top team (at Nashville).
Thanks Andy.
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Please keep updating this? If you have time?
Thanks, Tim. The time crunch was looking up the original numbers. Updating is easy. Just have to find the motivation if the Union lose any more games…
Thanks for keeping this updated! You win MOTC – Man Of The Comments
LOL, +1 on MOTC
Union were the MUCH better side tonight, and could (should?) have had at least three more goals with better finishing. The Union look so much better when they are on the counter. When they win the possession battle, they just look slow and predictable in the build up.
It is a gift that the Union have three quality strikers – a luxury this team has never had. I remain a Damiani fan. It seems as if he has observed the defensive work that Baribo and Uhre put in and has decided to do the same.
One question for the group – why would there be two goalies on the bench tonight? Do they really have no other field players capable of being on the bench just in case? That seemed really odd to me.
Re: Semmle & Rick both being on the bench. Who else was left? Union II played today. Harriel and Westfield suspended. Olney and Vasquez loaned out. Bender injured. Cavan in England. There was no one else.
To reinforce the point above, Union II played earlier in the afternoon with only four field players available as substitutes. They dressed 16 for their match.
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They won, 2-0.
Agree they prioritize the counter but they had some decent ball movement in possession in the first half. They created a number of decent chances they were unlucky to not finish.
Tanner has a tendency to sign someone in the summer who will have a better chance at contributing next season. Last year it was Danley Jean Jacques who was signed on August 8th. They’ve moved some players, I wonder if Tanner will make a move this year? The team could use another creator for the stretch run.
Christ. It was muggy as hell out there. No breeze to speak of. But the U got it done. Well done.
Funny, my wife who hates the really hot nights (and the really cold nights) actually said the weather was comfortable for a change as we were getting in the car after the game 🙂
The first half was brutally humid. Not even all that hot, but man it was uncomfortable. I felt bad for the players. In the second half the humidity seemed to go down noticeably and it was most more pleasant.
Happy to see Uhre get the 2 goals. My season would made if the Union beat Miami with Messi in the line up in the playoffs. Garber will try his best to somehow make it very difficult for any team that faces. MIAMI. scheduling, ref selection, anything he an possibly do to make his poster child’s team have an edge. The MLS web site should be called the Messi/ Miami web site. It sickens me .
I’m just happy he (Garber) didn’t cave to the talking heads on the suspension for not showing up for the all-star game.
I’m hoping that it pisses of Messi enough that he looks to leave at the end of the season (probably a big pay day with the Saudis)
At one point, it was 1-0 Colorado with an xG of 3.78 to 0.8 in favor of the Union. xG evens out over time, and it certainly did in this match.
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What position was Mbaizo playing? I know it was supposed to be RB but, other than some key stops late in the game, he was nearly never where he was supposed to be.
He was in position to take throw ins throughout the match!
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That’s why he’s 3rd string.
Here is the view from Section 105:
1) It was a warm and steamy night at the Soob and a fairly large number of fans decided to bail on this game. We saw some unfamiliar faces amongst the regulars in our section and it looked to me that about 60% of the seats were filled. My grandson pointed out that there was no one sitting in the section reserved for the visiting team’s fans.
2) The Union came out pressing and Colorado obliged, turning over the ball repeatedly at midfield and at their end, creating chances for the Union. Steffan, as he has done in the past, stood on his head, and made some sterling saves. From our vantage point, it looked as though Damiani’s header may have crossed the line, but the VAR review concluded that it had not.
3) Colorado’s goal definitely came against the run of play. It looked on replay as though a couple of Union defenders gave up their runs back, which meant that no defenders could block the rebound. The play started when Vassilev was surrounded by 3 players in the middle of the field and tried to outlet to Wagner. His touch was a little strong and Harris shouldered Wagner out of the way to start the counterattack. Danley and Vassilev were caught upfield and they did not get back in time. It is clear that Wagner thought about taking a yellow card and pulling Harris down, but [wisely as things turned out] refrained from doing so.
4) The Union continued to press in the second half with many corner kicks and pressed even more after Tai Baribo’s golden toe leveled the match. In the 78th minute, my grandson said that he thought the game would be drawn and (to my credit), I disagreed because I thought that the Union would find a winner. And Uhre’s left-footer was a thing of beauty.
5) The Union nearly gave up a leveling goal in added time–I cringe when the Union play in the low block because they continue to defend poorly. Off a corner kick, Colorado missed a header.
6) Uhre’s second goal was what we hoped/expected to see from him from the beginning. He outran a smaller defender, held him off, and delivered a strike with power that went in. I hope that this unlocks his scoring touch–super sub!
7) I have to disagree with All3 and Andy here. After some poor touches in the first 30 minutes, Olivier Mbaizo grew into the match and made some deft touches on the right. Mbaizo had a lesser role to play in the 2nd half because it was clear that the Union had decided to play through Wagner, which was good strategy. I thought this was one of Mbaizo’s better games.
8) Kudos to the head referee Malik Badawi, who allowed physical play on both sides. This contributed to a game that had great flow. This was refreshing after last week’s officiating debacle.
At the end of the game, I wasn’t worried that Colorado would level once they setup their offense. The Union defense was much surer when they had time to setup. My worries were on the counterattack. And there were times throughout the game where Sullivan and Mbaizo tried to get too fancy with their play which led to counters.
Mbaizo’s play has definitely regressed over the seasons.
But curiously so, because it is for more mental mistakes.
His play hasn’t benefited from experience.
He has skills but was always given to occasional mistakes for offensive overcommitment.
Now… given less playing time… he tries too hard to get forward.
This magnifies his struggles to connect and communicate
effectively with his back line mates.
I’ve always contended that he’d be a better midfielder and perhaps more useful at mid.
Especially now: given both the existence and emergence of young, promising Union talents in the back.
But what do I know… :-/
Agree on Mbaizo. My son and I, watching from section 127, thought that Mbaizo had a really good match.
Mbaizo is feast or famine. I don’t deny that he had a few solid moments, including He had a decent last 30 minutes – but time and again he was caught upfield, leaving Glesnes alone on the right and then, to make matters worse, was beaten in his recovery runs by just about everyone else not playing striker. Watch the highlight of the Colorado goal – he isn’t even in the Union’s half of the field.
Extremely frustrating first half, deeply satisfying second half. xG for the Union was 4.8, and we underperformed in part due to Steffen’s goalkeeping, in part due to bad finishing, and in part due to bad luck. Danley missed because the ball hopped up onto his shin at the last second. Damiani was robbed, for at least the 4th time this season — dude must have the worst luck in the league. I will not be surprised to see him score double-digit goals next season.
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But let’s not sleep on the fact that all 3 of the Union goals were great finishes, including Baribo’s, which had to be slotted home just right. Uhre first goal was pure class. Contrary to some commenters above, I thought Mbaizo had a really good match, and don’t forget how hard it is to be a FB in humid conditions like that. Lukic also had an excellent game, marred only by his one gaping miss on goal. And the other guy who brought it last night was Vassilev, who was a terror. He is lacking in offensive skill, and I wish we could upgrade that position, but last night he showed why Carnell rates him highly.