Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union

Two weeks after clinching the Supporters’ Shield and home-field advantage throughout the MLS playoffs, the Boys in Blue headed south to Charlotte, North Carolina for a decision day match that was very important to Charlotte FC but mattered not one bit in terms of playoff seedings for the Union. A Union win would have seen the team finish on 69 points, the team’s best every, while a tie would have seen them finish on 67, tying their best finish from 2022. The Union played well enough, but two Charlotte goals in six minutes were enough for the Crown to take all three points. The Union did feature 16 players (most of whom will be relied upon in the playoffs) and most importantly, finished the match injury free and with no suspensions for the start of the playoffs.

Player Ratings

GK Andre Blake – 6

Charlotte’s two goals were tough goals for any keeper to stop. In his prime, maybe Blake saves one. He came up big at other times, making three solid saves to keep the Union from falling even further behind in the match.

LB Kai Wagner – 4

Kai Wagner was less than his solid self. He did contribute offensively, creating six chances from crosses and corners. Wagner stopped running on Charlotte’s first goal (thinking it was over the touch line) and was caught up field. Charlotte overloaded the Union’s right wing, pulling all the defenders out of position to the right side of the field. Wagner was pulled into the center of the box on Charlotte’s second goal, leaving Kerwin Vargas wide open to score on Blake. 

CB Olwethu Makhanya – 6

A good night from the center back that some folks (Dax McCarty for instance) think should be MLS defender of the year. Had seven clearances and eight recoveries and with Wagner mostly shut down Charlotte’s right-side attack. 

CB Jakob Glesnes – 6

An average night from the much improved (compared to last year) center back who some (Bradley Wright-Phillips) thinks should be the Union’s MVP. Forced to deal with Charlotte’s overload on the left, he did have five clearances, two interceptions and seven recoveries. 

RB Nate Harriel – 5

A tough night for the right back, who was forced to take on not only Wilfried Zaha but also Ashley Westwood and Harry Toffolo, as the English trio regularly overloaded the left. Did not win a tackle on a cross that wound up at the feet of Zaha, who scored the first Charlotte goal. Subbed off in the 78th minute to avoid a second yellow card. Was not his usual self offensively either; perhaps being paired with Alejandro Bedoya rather than Quinn Sullivan had something to do with it. 

DM Jovan Lukić – 7

Lukić played solidly in the base of the midfield box and completed the most passes (many of them short) on the night when the Union gave away too many passes. He did have 16 passes into the final third and created three scoring chances. Defensively was instrumental in shutting down the right side of Charlotte’s attack.

DM Danley Jean Jacques – 6

A quieter game from Danley than we’ve come to expect. He was shown a yellow card in the 32nd minute (along with Zaha) and was replaced in the 78th minute to avoid a second yellow and a suspension (a fate which did not escape Zaha).

AM Milan Iloski – 5

Was not as creative as he has shown he is capable of being, Iloski never seemed to settle into the match and mesh with Uhre on the left. He did have four touches in the Charlotte box but did not create a single chance before being subbed of in the 55th minute for Cavan Sullivan.

AM Alejandro Bedoya – 6

Asked to fill an attacking midfield role (which he is certainly capable of), Bedoya looked the most dangerous of the Union attackers in the first half. In just 45 minutes on the pitch (can artificial turf be called a pitch?) he had five touches in the Charlotte box, including two shots – one of which he rocketed just wide of the net and the other was blocked.

FWD Mikael Uhre – 5

More than once, Uhre was able to get behind his defender on long passes up field, but ultimately only had two touches in the Charlotte box and only created one scoring chance. Picked up a yellow card and was subbed off for Tai Baribo at the half.

FWD Bruno Damiani – 5

Damiani had a pretty quiet game, touching the ball least among players who went the full 90 minutes. He did create two chances, one of which was a nice header flicked on from a cross, but unfortunately right into the hands of keeper Kristijan Kahlina.

Substitutes:

(46′) Indiana Vassilev – 6

Vassilev looked a bit more dangerous on the night than Bedoya (who did have his chances). Very accurate on his passing, he also had five touches with the Charlotte box and three shots – all of which were blocked or off target.

(46′) Tai Baribo – 6

Relegated to the bench for the second game in a row (perhaps because of international travel), Baribo looked the most dangerous of the Union strikers on the night. Took five shots on the night, one of which was a header that hit the woodwork. Baribo should have scored on the night.

(55′) Cavan Sullivan – 6

Given his longest first team workout since July, the younger Sullivan showed he deserved to be on the pitch. Had a very nice shot on target saved by Kahlina.

(78’) Frankie Westfield – n/a

Brought on to spell Harriel who had earned a card in the 71st minute, Westfield was not able to influence the match either way in the 15 minutes he was on the field.

(78’) Jesus Bueno – n/a

Brought on to get Danley off the pitch (Danley was on a yellow card), Bueno did a solid job eating minutes until the final whistle.

Geiger Counter

Tori Penso – 7

Penso called a good match, using frequent yellow cards to keep things from getting out of control. Fairly gave the Union a warning that the next foul on Zaha would be met with a yellow for persistent fouling –  she then gave a yellow to Harriel when he fouled Zaha. Gave Zaha a second yellow after she caught him retaliating against Bueno (who had slapped Zaha’s arm). Zaha’s red card means he misses Charlotte’s first match at home against NYCFC.

Player of the Match – Kristijan Kahlina

No choice here (after Zaha was sent off with a red), Kahlina made five saves and kept a clean sheet against a Union team that was pushing to at least score one in the second half.

What’s Next…

The Union return home to face the winner of the Chicago Fire vs. Orlando City play-in game. TBA