Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union Communications

An upcoming US Open Cup clash meant that the Supporters Shield leaders fielded a much changed lineup away to the Vancouver Whitecaps, with disastrous results. Vancouver entered the game sitting third in the West and in the hunt for a playoff spot. After tonight’s performance, they are definitely well on their way. Andrew Rick started in goal, with a very changed defensive line in front of him. Makhanya missed the game through suspension. Nathan Harriel started in the center with Glesnes, with Westfield taking left back and Bedoya platooning at right back, as he had done successfully against Chicago.

First half

The Whitecaps came out strong from the start, fast–and physical, collecting two yellow cards in the first 15 minutes. The Union looked tentative and struggled to put together passes or to get behind the Vancouver defense. Ali Ahmed for the Whitecaps, had no such problems getting behind the defense, where he repeatedly torched Bedoya down the right, creating spaces in the middle as Glesnes moved wide to assist.

The first goal for Vancouver came in the 18th minute off a well worked corner from Berhalter that found the head of Laborda and the back of the net. Six minutes later, a cross from Ahmed found Sabbi for the ‘Caps second goal of the night. By the half, more than half of Vancouver’s attacks would come down the Union’s right side. A cross into the box in 30th minute found Jose Bueno’s arm in an unnatural position, resulting in a penalty kick. Thomas Mueller, 36 years old today, converted to make it 3-0.

Then, in the 40th minute, a beautiful searching ball from Glesnes found an onrushing Bedoya who crossed to a streaking Mikael Uhre, who slotted it into the net first time–only for the goal to be chalked off by VAR for a hair’s breadth of offside, leaving the visitors goalless. In the 40th minute, Bedoya left a leg out that brought down Ahmed, as he tried to corral him, resulting in a second penalty kick. Mueller converted.

The half ended with a triple substitution in stoppage time, before the half–Wagner, Baribo and Jean Jacques.

Second half

The second half started much stronger for the Union, with some incisive passing and buildup that led to some early good looks at goal. It looked like the Union might be starting to grow into the game. Until the 61st minute. The threat Mueller carried drew defenders toward the middle, this time leaving Sabbi open on the left to curl in a high, hard shot for Vancouver’s fifth goal and Sabbi’s second on the night. In the 80th minute, it was 6-0, when the 17 year old Rayan Elloumi, with only one previous appearance, headed on a flick from Mueller. In the 88th minute, Thomas Mueller got his hat trick, making it 7-0.

In the end, it was a disastrous, confused Union performance. The Whitecaps capitalized. Union passing and buildup, except for a few passages early in the second half, were very poor. Marking was poor. Where the Union was predictable, heavy-legged and out of ideas, Vancouver pressed, was dynamic. Let’s hope the memory of this game will enliven the Union for the Tuesday matchup against Nashville in the Open Cup semi-finals.

Defender Kai Wagner earned his 200th MLS appearance with the Philadelphia Union, and homegrown defender Neil Pierre made his MLS debut.

 Three points:

•  Bedoya: Using Bedoya as a right back worked against Chicago, but he is clearly more valuable as a midfielder. His cross to Uhre in the first half was pure class. While it’s true that Mbaizo gets caught out from time to time, the threat of his speed and crosses can pin back attacking wingers.
• Rotation: Rotating the squad in May during the high number of games worked well, and with the USOC semis coming up so soon (Tuesday), it made sense to rest players. But did the experience of May make Carnell and players complacent about the risks? Westfield is not a natural substitute for Wagner, and the defensive line really missed Makhanya.
  
• Resilience: Goals change games, and the VAR-disallowed goal in the 40th minute might have emboldened the Union. They continued to chase the game, but as the scoreline makes abundantly clear, they couldn’t stop shipping goals. There was an uncharacteristic franticness in the defense and through the midfield. The fact they could cut through Vancouver during the opening minutes of the second half demonstrates that even on the night, they were a better team than they showed. But they didn’t keep it up. Andrew Rick made some important saves that kept the scoreline from being worse.

GOALS/ASSISTS
VAN – Mathias Laborda (Berhalter) 18’
VAN – Emmanuel Sabbi (Ahmed) 24’
VAN – Thomas Müller (PK) 29’
VAN – Thomas Müller (PK) 45+1’
VAN – Emmanuel Sabbi (Müller, Berhalter) 61’
VAN – Rayan Elloumi (Berhalter, Nelson ) 80’
VAN – Thomas Müller (unassisted) 88’

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
VAN – Thomas Müller (caution) 8’
VAN – Tristan Blackmon (caution) 16’
PHI – Milan Iloski (caution) 68’
VAN – Tate Johnson (caution) 74’
PHI – Tai Baribo (caution) 75’
PHI – Jovan Lukic (caution) 87’

Lineups
Philadelphia Union: Andrew Rick; Jakob Glesnes, Alejandro Bedoya (Kai Wagner 47’), Nathan Harriel, Frankie Westfield, Jovan Lukic, Jesus Bueno (Danley Jean Jacques 47’ ), Indiana Vassilev (Bruno Damiani 62’) , Quine Sullivan, Mikael Uhre (Tai Baribo 47’), Milan Iloski (Neil Pierre 70’)

Substitutes not used: George Marks, Olivier Mbaizo, Jeremey Rafanello, Cavan Sullivan

Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Yohei Takaoka; Mathias Laborda, Belal Halbouni, Tristan Blackmon, Edier Ocampo (Tate Johnson 68’ ), Andres Cubas (Jeevan Badwal 81’), Sebastian Berhalter ( Giuseppe Bovalina 87’), Ali Ahmed (Jayden Nelson 67’ ), Thomas Müller, Emmanuel Sabbi, Daniel Rios (Rayan Elloumi 68’)

Substitutes not used: Ralph Priso, Isaac Boehmer, Jean-Claude Ngando, Kenji Cabrera

Referee: Allen Chapman