Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
For the first time in six years, the Philadelphia Union failed to secure any points against the New York Red Bulls, losing 1-0 on Saturday night at Red Bull Arena. The loss snapped the Union’s franchise-record 16-match unbeaten streak against the Red Bulls, a run that stretched back to 2018.
Playing for the second time in just four days after their U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal win, the Union fielded a heavily rotated lineup, but ultimately were unable to produce a result.
How The Match Unfolded
The opening half unfolded as expected: physical, tight, and low-scoring. Both sides carved out half-chances, and Andre Blake produced a strong save to deny Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting before being forced out with an injury. His exit handed 19-year-old Homegrown goalkeeper Andrew Rick a difficult assignment in front of the hostile crowd, though he held his own as the first 45 minutes ended scoreless.
After halftime, the Union pushed to seize control, leaning on their deep bench to bring in attacking reinforcements. Their best chance came in the 68th minute, when Bruno Damiani earned a penalty and stepped up to take it. However, his effort was stopped by former Union keeper Carlos Coronel, and after that, momentum swung toward the hosts. Just six minutes later, the Red Bulls capitalized, with Choupo-Moting threading a pass to Dylan Nealis for a finish that stood as the decisive goal.
Philadelphia nearly found a late equalizer through Kai Wagner, but his long-range strike curled just wide of the post. Despite their resilience and a strong showing from Rick in relief, the Union were unable to break through, leaving Red Bull Arena empty-handed for the first time since 2017.
3 Points
- Historic streak ends: The Union’s 16-match unbeaten run against the Red Bulls, which stretched back to 2018, ended with the loss
- Missed penalty: Damiani’s saved penalty highlights an ongoing problem for the Union when it comes to not capitalizing on chances
- Injured Blake: Blake was forced off in the first half with an injury, leaving a big question mark in goal as the Union rev up for the end of the season run.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2): Andre Blake (Andrew Rick–28′), Nathan Harriel, Olwethu Makhanya, Kai Wagner, Olivier Mbaizo, Jovan Lukic, Jesus Bueno (Danley Jean Jacques–78′), Alejandro Bedoya (Quinn Sullivan–61′) Chris Donovan (Bruno Damiani–46′), Mikael Uhre (Tai Baribo–61′), Milan Iloski
Unused Substitutes: Jeremy Rafanello, Cavan Sullivan, Frankie Westfield, Neil Pierre
New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1): Carloos Coronel, Tim Parker, Noah Eile, Raheem Edwards, Dylan Nealis, Emil Fosberg (Julian Hall–82′), Daniel Edelman, Peter Stroud, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Wiktor Bogacz–90′) Serge Ngoma (Dennis Gjengaar–58′), Wikelman Carmona (Sean Nealis–90′)
Unused Substitutes: Marcelo Morales, Roald Mitchell, Aiden Stokes, Alexander Hack, Ronald Donkor
Scoring Summary:
NYRB – Dylan Nealis – 74′
Disciplinary Summary:
NYRB – Dylan Nealis (77′)
NYRB – Wiktor Bogacz (90+5’)
POOP
The plan backfired.
Get the goals first, then put in the bench.
Damiani choked.
We move on
What happen to this team trying to connect passes?
Baribo and Uhre need to start more games together as Damaini has it in his head right now. He needs to be a power forward and taking shots with bad intent. That penalty he took looked like he was trying not to miss.
+1
Spot on about the passing. A 67 percent passing rate is craptacular.
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A possible mitigation. RBNY’s passing was slightly worse. The pitch was akin to an underfunded and overplayed public park amateur field.
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A late July concert mauled it, leaving it browned, dirt patched, and uneven. Pros are spoiled rotten with the best conditions, and that impacts the game.
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Spot on regarding the PK shot. Pick your spot, and strike confidently.
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The loss allowed Cincy to jump us into first. Winning the division is critical for playoff seeding and a CCC spot.
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I know we won’t win them all, but this was a missed opportunity. RBNY aren’t a great team, and an away match there is more technical than substantive given the short distance, subpar RBNY fan support, and noteworthy Union fan attendance with intensity.
It’s so Union…
I’ve Attended 25+ away games in my 16 seasons,, most of the Union, Pink Cows matches.
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But last night the Sons of Ben were just embarrassing.
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The use of the F word was just out of control as I watched even Union fans moving their children out of the sections near SOBs, BECAUSE of these over the top so called ‘fans’.
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PLEASE STOP CURSING.
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There are plenty of other words you can use, like PINK COWS.
Amazes me sometimes how painful soccer is to watch when those two teams play each other. In other news…
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….Uhre, Donovan & Mbazio. Permutations of these players cost points. The blame goes around to a franchise for a loss like that but these three players in particular are not good enough to sustain a top of the table position.
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Maybe i am proved wrong. I hope to be in truth. Maybe they can win 4-5 games over a playoff run. Without Andre i doubt that too… from my vantage Andrew Rick hugged his near post too much. From that exceptional angle it is a tough gol to concede.
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Hat tip to New York. They were going to win eventually …. been better if it was 2026.
Tough points dropped the last two games.
Trashtastic.
Right-on to the first two comments. Our 2nd half was painful to watch, the inability to maintain possession through the midfield was reminiscent of the 2nd half of the Toronto game.
Let me borrow this forum for a shout out to whoever owns the Union Yards for yesterday’s performance in support of the Delco Chalk Fest held on Rainey Street right outside Subaru Park. This was a family friendly event showcasing some very talented chalk artists from across the country. The Yards was open for a bit of shade and an adult beverage. But come on, charging $15.50 game day prices for a beer. That was an insult to the arts community! Shame on you!
Sorry Bradley, but you got over confident. We lost this match to poor player management. Starting Milan (as good as he is), who is learning the team, over Baribo? Against a pissed off club at their home that we just beat in cups play a couple of days ago?
I approve of how Carnell rotates the side, and it is a huge improvement over the Jim Curtin drive-everyone-into-the-ground approach.
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However, now that we have Iloski, Donovan should never see the pitch again. And starting him as an attacking midfielder made it even more ridiculous.
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Nonetheless, he came out at halftime, and so I can’t blame that for our inability to connect passes, which continued into the second half. Maybe it was just the third game in 8 days thing. Plus you knew we couldn’t keep beating the Red Bulls forever.
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Anyway, if we could only have one, I’m glad we won the Open Cup match. We’re still only a single point from the top of the table.
How many games has Blake missed in the last 3 years? Asking for a fren-who’s tired of this shit.
Dam broke. Olivier is fat. Dono is no pro.