Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union crashed out of the U.S. Open Cup in a sloppy and foul-filled match that ended 3-1 in Nashville SC’s favor. Sam Surridge proved too much for the Philly defense as the MLS Golden Boot leader bagged a hat-trick. Despite a Quinn Sullivan wonder-strike that kept matters interesting, the Boys in Blue were unable to rally for the comeback. The Union have now lost 7 total semi-final matches in club history.
First Half
In a series of disjointed minutes filled with fouls and attacks that led to nowhere, the Union were clearly not at their best, but still left themselves with a chance after a lackluster first 45 minutes.
Both teams traded fouls in the early throes of the game. First it was Bruno Damiani going in hard on Edvard Tagseth, then Kai Wagner became the victim of a harsh tackle. Damiani again fouled, this time putting a stiff boot into the ankle of Nashville full back Andy Nájar, earning a yellow from referee Victor Rivas for his effort. It came in just the 5th minute of play.
After a period of Union pressure hemmed Nashville deep in their half, a quick counter earned the first corner of the match for the Coyotes. Hany Mukhtar’s delivery was cleared out by the head of Olwethu Makhanya, and Nájar’s volley attempt was shanked out of play for a goal kick.
Nashville would earn another corner in the 12th minute, and opted to play it short, almost catching the Union defense unaware but for Damiani’s last second tackle that brought the ball into the safe hands of Andrew Rick.
Sam Surridge threatened to break through in the 20th minute but Makhanya made good use of his body to fend off the imposing forward, winning a foul and denying the Englishman from a dangerous ball in the box.
After the ensuing free kick, the Boys in Blue got into a good position on the edge of the Nashville penalty area, but a defender won the ball back and quickly played through the press. A slick backheel from Mukhtar found the speedy Ahmed Qasem crossing the midfield line, and Frankie Westfield could only foul, earning a yellow card in the process.
Around the 23rd minute, Nashville benefitted from a poor pass out of the back from the Union, which resulted in a dangerous turnover, but Rick charged out to smother the shot from Surridge, and snuff out the first real chance of the game.
But, Surridge would not be held back for long. In the 36th minute, a Nashville long throw to the near post saw Jeisson Palacios flick a header across the box allowing Surridge – who had gotten past Glesnes – to easily open the scoring with a header of his own.
Immediately after the kick-off, Nashville threatened again through Surridge. His pressure won a foul off Makhanya just outside the box and the young South African became the latest Union player to enter the referee’s book. Mukhtar opted to go for goal, but Rick made a diving save to deny the 2022 MVP.
In the first minute of added time, Rick was called into action again, and made another save on a close range shot from Alex Muyl.
The Union had their best moment of the half near the end of stoppage time. They finally pressed in tandem, and it was effective, forcing a turnover that ended with a streaking Tai Baribo poised to cross the ball across the box. Unfortunately, it was tackled out off the prolific striker, amounting to nothing but a goal kick for the hosts. The half would end shortly thereafter.
Second Half
The Boys in Blue seemed on the edge of pulling off another crazy comeback, but ultimately fell short of the mark once more.
An unchanged Philadelphia side would kick the second half off. Nashville made one change during the break, with Qasem exiting for Jacob Shaffelburg.
Despite a bright opening minute or so from the Union, things quickly went from bad to worse for Philly. After a late whistle from Rivas awarded a free kick to Nashville near the corner flag, Sam Surridge would double the Nashville lead in the 50th minute.
The driven cross from Mukhtar found Shaffelburg, who rifled a low shot on net. Rick got down for the save, but the ball shot up sky high before coming down perfectly for Surridge. The former Nottingham Forest player once again headed home from close range.
Damiani, who was trying to block the shot on the line, once again invited controversy by blatantly attempting to swipe the ball out with his hand, a play that apparently should have seen him sent off with a second yellow, according to CBS’s Expert Rules Analyst Christina Unkle.
Nashville seemed poised to score again but for another big save from Rick in the 53rd minute, who again denied Mukhtar.
Things started getting really chippy after that, particularly when Milan Iloski elbowed Tagseth in the face, drawing a flow of blood from the Norwegian’s eye socket that needed to be treated several times after the fact.
Apparently that was the catalyst for Carnell to make some changes with Quinn Sullivan and Mikael Uhre coming on in the 64th minute for Iloski and Damiani respectively.
Nashville had two golden opportunities to put the game to bed – but both would go to waste. First, it was Mukhtar who whiffed an open shot from inside the box. Then the Coyotes had a goal chalked off for offside after Shaffelburg comedically tripped right in front of the ball – which then deflected in.
Quinn Sullivan would turn the game on its head in the 70th minute with a thunderous strike. Seemingly out of nowhere, the young USMNT player ripped a fierce shot from outside the 18, which left Biran Schwake with no chance.
In the 75th minute, Uhre had an almost perfect chance to equalize, but his first time shot lacked power and was directly at Schwake – who made no mistake with the save.
An agonizing game of back-and-forth began with neither side able to finish their chances. This precarious balance persisted until the 85th minute when Sam Surridge completed his hattrick.
Daniel Lovitz floated an inch perfect long ball into the box, and the Englishman rose once more to score, this time using a deft side-footed volley to finish into the upper 90° of Rick’s net.
After 5 minutes of added time, which saw a Makhanya header saved and a long range Glesnes strike go over the bar, the Union were unable to add to their score. The match finished 3-1. The Union have lost yet another semi-final.
PSP’s 3 Points
- Carnell’s Carnival: Alarm bells are starting to sound in Union Land. The Boys in Blue followed up a franchise worst loss in Vancouver with a disjointed performance in Nashville. Perhaps they were mentally still at BC Place or maybe the travel was simply too much. Either way, the past two games are a concerning sign, especially with the post-season nearing. Carnell had a record start at Saint Louis SC, but the wheels came off in the final third of the season and it ended with a Round One elimination in the playoffs. Will he be able to right the ship? Or is this Union season destined for another disappointing end?
- Disciplinary Deficiencies: The Union have long been a team that isn’t afraid to foul. They play aggressively, and they press hard. That leads to fouls suffered and fouls earned. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional tactical foul. Tonight though, it seemed several Union players lost their heads. Damiani could have been sent off twice, the first incident was only in the 5th minute – and it wasn’t even his first hard foul. Iloski threw an elbow. Wagner was getting into it with the referee. Those types of decisions imply frustration and a lack of focus. A lot can change in two games and it seems like this team needs to get its collective mind right.
- Sullivan Strikes: Quinn Sullivan didn’t start this game. In his 30 minutes on the field he made a strong case to return to the starting lineup. He was a spark plug off the bench and his goal was an outrageous strike about 5 minutes into his appearance. That being said, it was his first tally since May 24th, and his production has dipped the back half of the season. The Union will need their Homegrown to get back on the scoresheet more often down the stretch.
Lineups:
Philadelphia Union (4-2-2-2):
Andrew Rick, Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Jakob Glesnes, Frankie Westfield, Danley Jean Jacques, Jovan Lukić, Milan Iloski (Quinn Sullivan 64’), Indiana Vassilev (Sal Olivas 86’), Bruno Damiani (Mikael Uhre 64’), Tai Baribo (Jeremy Rafanello 86’)
Unused Subs: George Marks, Nathan Harriel, Alejandro Bedoya
Nashville SC (4-3-3):
Brian Schwake, Daniel Lovitz, Jack Maher, Jeisson Palacios, Andy Nájar, Alex Muyl (Josh Bauer 76’), Patrick Yazbek, Edvard Tagseth, Hany Mukhtar (Teal Bunbury 86’), Sam Surridge (Mathew Corcoran 90’), Ahmed Qasem (Jacob Shaffelburg HT)
Unused Subs: Xavier Valdez, Chris Applewhite, Gaston Brugman
Scoring Summary:
NSH: Sam Surridge (Jeisson Palacios) – 36’
NSH: Sam Surridge – 50’
PHI: Quinn Sullivan (Indiana Vassilev) – 70’
NSH: Sam Surridge (Daniel Lovitz) – 85’
Disciplinary Summary:
PHI: Bruno Damiani (Yellow – Unsporting Behavior) – 5’
PHI: Frankie Westfield (Yellow – Unsporting Behavior) – 21’
PHI: Olwethu Makhanya (Yellow – Unsporting Behavior) – 37’
PHI: Milan Iloski (Yellow – Unsporting Behavior) – 62’
PHI: Kai Wagner (Yellow – Unsporting Behavior) – 66’
NSH: Daniel Lovitz (Yellow – Dissent) – 75’
NSH: Hany Mukhtar (Yellow – Dissent) – 77’
What happens when you play a system that teams with talent can figure out how to beat that also wears down your players over the course of the season? This, this is what happens.
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Union are eliminated from the Open Cup
Union do not control their own destiny to win the Shield
Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs.
It does feel like there’s a ceiling on the energy drink ball they play. It’s physically demanding for both sides, and I think higher quality opponents (the kind you find later in tournaments/playoffs) can break it down with superior talent.
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I’m hopefully they can straighten themselves out and get at least 9 points from the last four matches. Maybe that’s enough if the other teams trip up too.
Well put. Nice strike by Sullivan. The young keeper did well despite the scoreline again. Other than that, the performance was Toilet Bowl II, the Overflow.
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Since we’ve always been excuses rather than results in lack of championships, our team looked tired from long travels and a bad burn in BC. Nashville had a regional match in Cincy and was home tonight.
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Our coach, like Curtin, can only deal with the hand that he has. He took a bet option to maximize chances that didn’t pay off. So be it for trying.
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What we can’t fix is ownership. It’s water under the bridge, but desperation to get a team in Philly wasn’t worth the cost of accepting opportunistic ownership so cheap and uncommitted to winning championships in lieu of freeriding and asset flipping profit.
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Whatever can be pressured to make him sell to someone who cares about fans should be done. He’ll make out well. So should we.
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Once again, a team younger than us is guaranteed to lift a championship trophy, and USOC was never easier to win than now for down table MLS.teams. This is what Sugarman has condemned Philly fans.
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One thing is self-evident as we all know. Seeding matters for trophy chances. It helped Nashville today, just like LAFC for the biggest prize. Just like the Birds and Phils know.
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That’s all that matters now until the playoffs. We have a remaining schedule to secure that.
SUCKS!
Who is this team? We beat Cincinnati a good team a couple of weeks ago. Now they look like they have never played together???? Although the Union played like a bunch of strangers, I have to question some of the comments about fouls. I do think the refs overlooked several early fouls absorbed by union players. Wagner took a shot early in the game that slowed him down for the entire match. Damian committed fouls for sure but many times it was retaliation aka second man gets caught. We have to use more ball control and connect passes. Sullivan is the only threat that the other teams have a hard time handling . He can cut across the field and pin
point a pass or cross . He finds the open man. I was baffled why he did not start. When the long ball does not work don’t rely on it. It took Carnell too long last Night to adjust. Gleanes was overmatched by Surridge. Mc Kahnya was up the field trying to help the offense. The Ynion rarely broke thru the midfield center of the pitch at all. Too many long balls and pressing against a high quality more disciplined team , obviously does not work well. Just ask Jesse March when he tried it n Leeds vs. Arsenal or Manchester. His Leeds team was worn out and in disarray but midseason before he was dismissed. Carnell needs Quinn Sullivan on the field along with Blake to win a playoff game. Baribo and the other forward rarely saw the ball at all.Carnell needs to see the forest from the trees and alter his game when route 1 is closed….
Good points!
When i saw the lineup… my first thought was Vassilev over Quinn —> is dumb,
So it was. Not sure what his fascination is with Indiana V.
Team played terrible, again.
Couldn’t agree more and said the same thing. When Iloski showed up and was playing with Quinn, didn’t they look great? Vassilev was out with the concussion I believe. The upgrade to Indy was Iloski. Iloski and Quinn looked great on the field together early on. Now it’s Vassilev again. Dude reminds me of Danny Cruz. Works hard as shit but not smart as shit. Please start Quinn again
“Tony: the Union seem to be lacking something. What do you think that is?”
Oh, talent .
If you lack any ability to play on the ball ⚽️ you’re not ever winning a damn thing. Do they even practice it? One would think by now they’d be better at it by accident.
The Official Pace Car of MLS is ready to get off the track. BTW: if this is how the club want to play-why is that lumbering oaf known as Damiani on it?
At this point, the only thing Glesnes does consistently is lose his mark. Sure; let’s reward him like the other bums.
When in doubt, cheap shot, hack and pout.
The line that Damiani could have been sent off twice is wrong. Damiani SHOULD have been sent off on two separate occasions and could have been sent off on at least one more.
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Team played poorly, but biggest issue was not marking Surridge. Nashville has a limited number of threats, so should be easier to defend. Somehow the Union’s defense has not been up to it all season. Meanwhile the Union learned that playing for only the last 20 minutes isn’t good enough.
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Now have to focus on Saturday where they need a game like the one against Chicago and not one like Toronto where they give away 2 points at the end.
I thought up until the Vancouver game the Union had the best defense if you measure it by fewest goals against. Am I wrong?
They did have the fewest goals against, but this was the second time they gave up 3 goals against Nashville who only has a limited number of scoring threats (and the other game they played much of it up a man…and still gave up the winning goal).
I know that this is Negadelphia, but I am not ready to write this team off yet (It is fair to ask whether this is the triumph of hope over experience, though.). I agree with Pachy–Quinn Sullivan should be starting every game–his pace and ball control make him a threat. Once he came in, the Union became a threat. Andy is right about Damiani. The first challenge easily could have been red–studs up hitting the defender’s ankle and his reaching his hand to touch a ball going into the net was ridiculous. Yo, Bruno–take a ‘lude. Hopefully they will enjoy some home cooking on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the results this season, I’ve had a hard time maintaining enthusiasm for this season’s U. I’ve been happy with Carnell’s willingness to rotate the squad, generally happy with a lot of the new signings but not sure I’ve ever seen it settled. I don’t like the system and don’t think I ever will.
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In the minutes I have watched, it’s been a lot of pointless running, poor passing and unconvincing defense. It’s a way of playing that will pick up points during the pointless mid season doldrums but not up to reliably winning an elimination game when a team with more quality can dictate terms.
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I have not and still don’t have any hope for them in the playoffs (though a part of me hopes my pessimism is proved wrong). I thought they might be able to nick the Open Cup this year, so last night was pretty deflating. This team too often hits poor patches of form late in the season. It’s tiring.
The game is a moving meditation for me.
Aesthetic matters.
I have surrendered it completely. I find the style unappealing. Almost ZERO 1v1 isolations, it is almost constantly a variation of up back and through.
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Very little… yi toco yi voy relational footy.
There are 1 touch moments which are breathtaking I stipulate but so much bogs down in poor technical quality for me.
Just is. I do wish The Birds threw the ball a bit more too. Difference is Super Bowl v typical.
When the score was 2-1 and the Union looking for a second, the pass through the line to Uhre was sublime. Only for Uhre to scuff it right into the keeper’s gut. They have monents – nee, flashes – of brilliance. But simply not enough.
There are moments of brilliance, but agree they are few and far between. This team has had it’s moments in the past. There was a lot to like about the Barnetta season, when we could control the ball for periods, Ilsinho with a nice progressive carry one-on-one from the wing.
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And yeah, OCTinPHL, that pass to Uhre must have had an xG of as close to 1 as it gets. He’s been such a disappointment.
Matt Doyle has always said that by the ne of a season there is no substitute for a world-class creative player.
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The Union’s business plan excludes getting one.
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After 15 years of observation and 10 years of writing about them, I conclude they will never win a first-team trophy.
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The best creator they have ever developed is now a DP for Colorado.
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That will be the Philadelphia Union’s epitaph.
+1. As Tanner told Sky Sports in Germany, “We are a developmental club, have the second to last budget every year.”
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Development plus star power produces championship trophies cheaper than outright buying success, but there still needs to be an investment in some star power to cross the threshold.
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Given that Sugarman owns the team and is unable/unwilling to do so,that equals zero championship trophies to date and the foreseeable future.
Someone smarter than me said the Union’s trophies are the jerseys of homegrowns they’ve sold hanging in their practice facility.
Yes somewhat agree but believe McGlynn is more influential than Pax and both are levels above Sullivan or any current Union player.
Both would make this team watchable.
It’s no new thinking but I am saying it AGAIN anyway… this team can and will only go so far until they make the big signing and spend the big money. Not at 4-5 positions… but perhaps… maybe at 1-2. Until then… we will get good to very good teams, who come up short because they don’t have a player that can take over a game or a Final, etc. In 2022, we succeeded literally until the last second and were done in by what? – we all know what. It’s just so frustrating. Sigh… can’t wait to see what happens this year…
+1. This USOC was our easiest path to date. CCC teams didn’t participate. We didn’t have schedule congestion with Leagues Cup or CCC. We had the luck of playing two USL teams plus a very mediocre RBNY to get to the semifinal.
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Even with stars, it’s hard to win trophies, but without them, you’ll virtually never win them, and certainly not in the main showcase of MLS Cup. There’s too many playoff matches against quality playoff teams with star power. As other MLS teams continue to invest in them, the gap will keep increasing.
We haven’t beaten Nashville in league play this season. It was always a long shot we beat them now. Sometimes a team just has your number. But it makes Saturday all the more embarrassing. Why throw the game at Vancouver? Why not contest both?
We’ll need to figure them out for the playoffs unless someone does our homework for us by eliminating them. If not, then the season is over anyway.
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Carnell sought the easiest path to our first championship trophy plus the CCC. The problem–besides cheap Sugarman–is what you mentioned on who has figured out who so successfully. The coach and team have some control over that.
lol. I said to my son after the game “let’s pray someone else knocks them out in the playoffs!”
Also to your point… it’s no coincidence that the teams that give us the most trouble have ex-Union coaches at the head.
Yes, they played poorly. Yet, they were only 2 egregious mistakes by highly paid players away from being tied on the road late in the game. Glesnes and Uhre must be better. Rec league guys could have made the plays where they failed.
This article really captures the frustration of the Union fans. Its disheartening to see the team struggle so consistently, especially after some promising starts. The analysis of the performance and the comments section highlight the urgent need for change.
Good