Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
Head Coach Bradley Carnell made five changes from the first leg, blending experience with young talent for the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup. The Union came into the match up 5 to 0 on aggregate, and finished 12-0 (7-0 on the night). Here are the ratings.
Player Ratings
GK Andrew Rick 6/10
Not much to do on the night. There were no recorded shots on goal, though he did thwart a promising breakaway in the sixth minute.
LB/(CB 2nd half) Giovanny Sequera 7/10
The right footed back playing on the left made a strong debut. He looked lively in attack, solid in defense and had good awareness with Sullivan and Rafanello. He was bodied off the ball for Defence Force’s first promising attack.
CB Olwethu Makhanya 8/10
Worked well with Martinez to snuff out developing plays. Defence Force did not put the Union’s back line under pressure, but he helped keep a clean sheet.
CB Geiner Martinez 8/10
A strong first showing, he paired well with Makhanya, and he opened the goal scoring in the seventh minute.
RB Olivier Mbaizo 5/10
Not a threat going forward, he was caught out twice and made some questionable passes.
M Alejandro Bedoya 7/10
A strong presence in every part of the field. It’s hard to quantify, but his leadership on the field and focused, professional approach was and important piece in the team’s success. Every time the camera focused on him, he was giving instruction.
M Jovan Lukic 7/10
Back after a lengthy convalescence, he looked committed and eager, but a bit rusty. His passing wasn’t quite up to his own standards. Converted the penalty kick in the 10th minute for the second goal of the game.
M Jeremy Rafanello 7/10
Looked more confident than in previous games, and he drew the foul that led to Lukic’s penalty strike for the second goal of the night. Linked up well with Sullivan and Sequera on the left side.
M Cavan Sullivan 9/10
Showed impeccable vision, confidence and creativity in the attacking third. He’s dangerous one-on-one, and he can thread a devastating pass. His four goal contributions (two goals, two assists) made him the standout on a night full of very good performances. He is the youngest American to score in the competition’s history.
FWD Ezekiel Alladoh 7/10
Good awareness, an ability to take players on and fine link-up play. He has a strong presence in and around the box and good movement off the ball. He contributed to two goals with assists in the second half. And he stayed out of the referee’s book.
FWD Stas Korzeniowski 8/10
Two emphatic goals on the night. The first, in the 12th minute, was the result of scintillating combination play. Both goals were statements from someone who knows the right place to be, and has the confidence to finish.
Substitutes:
*(45’) LB Ben Bender – 7/10
Came on for Makhanya but took the field as a left back, with Sequera moving to the center. He took his goal confidently. He also seemed to slip right into rhythm on the left side with Sullivan and Rafanello.
(45′) M Sal Olivas 6/10
Had the assist on the second Sullivan goal. Received a yellow card for a late challenge.
(59′) FWD Malik Jakupović 6/10
Another youth product, he looked lively and willing to take shots.
*(75’) M Jesus Bueno – 5/10
Jose Bueno’s defense is strong, but his passing out the back remains questionable.
Geiger Counter *REF Julio Luna – 8/10
Luna called a good match and managed the game well.
Player of the Match – Cavan Sullivan. A dominant performance. He became the youngest American goal scorer in Champions Cup history at 16 years, 4 months, and 29 days, tallying two assists and a brace.
What’s Next… The Union have their MLS home opener vs. NYCFC on Sunday, March 1. Apple TV. 7:30 p.m. The Union play Club America in the quarterfinals in two weeks.
Attended the game last night.
Stadium lighting looked brighter, sound system better… but weak Doop songs.
BTW… the ONLY thing I saw was Stas… Sir Dunc if you’re watching Seven Kingdoms. Conor Casey reincarnated.
I think CONCACAF may have rules against playing the usual songs like Doop for this competition which would be why they didn’t play it or the national anthems or anything before the kickoffs to start each half.
+1
Great game overall. Good opportunity to see the team’s young players perform well. Agree with the ratings overall, particularly with Cavan as Player of the Match. He’s not afraid to take on opponents, dribble in tight places and his passes were well placed. Agree Ali Bedoya was a strong presence on the field. He ran hard and made great passes. On the front line, both Stas and Alladoh worked well together. They are large targets and physically impressive with their holdup play. Malik, who is 3 months older than Cavan (according to the broadcast announcers) is also very tall. He came in the 2nd half and took a wicked shot on goal from distance that just missed. Also noticed that when he came in, Sal Olivas was fast and aggressive on the right side. Hope the team looks this good against NYCFC on Sunday!
Minor point, but didn’t M’Baizo move to CB in the second half and Sequera from LB to RB? That plus the game plan against a weaker opponent where we possessed a ton is likely M’Baizo wasn’t making a lot of crazy runs forward.
Agree with most ratings and I’m not sure how to really rate a defense in 7-0 game where they really weren’t challenged at all.
At 16 like Cavan, Malik Jakupović exhibits serious potential. He likewise bags plenty of goals with other useful production with the USMNT U-17.
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My concern is that we’ll never see the full benefit of him in either club or international.
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1) He’s precisely the kind of youth that Sugarman will put for sale in the front window as a future franchise player for another.
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2) US born and reared, he also has dual citizenship with Bosnia and Herzegovina through his parents. Before the U-17 WC, he told a FIFA interviewer: “Right now, I’m planning on sticking with the US. I don’t have any plans on going anywhere else.”
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Right now, that is. It’s reportedly been leaked through his family and friends gossip that his true intention is to play for B&H, using the USMNT youth program as a stepping stone.
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That’s what fellow Bosniak American Esmir Bajraktarevic admittedly did. Like Julian Araujo, the USMNT even burned a senior cap on Esmir along with the youth time and dime as added insult to injury.
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The way I see it, in international, if your heart is set elsewhere, then don’t abuse another’s shirt. Bad faith inclusion steals limited space from the serious and their time and dime . (I’ve no issue with surplus players switching because they gave a right of first refusal.)
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I hope his intention with the USMNT is sincere and, if not, then move along to B&H ASAP. That’s not only honorable but also smart for his receptions by US domestic clubs.
I’m going to disagree a bit (beyond hoping his intention is sincere because I’d like to see him play for the national team). For youth players based in the US, it makes sense to play for the US at the youth level even if ultimately they plan to go elsewhere. It’s a lot less expensive to travel to camp in the US than it is to go to a camp in Europe, not to mention less time consuming since hopefully he is also working on his studies. It would be one thing if he was potentially going somewhere within CONCACAF, especially Canada or Mexico but to expect him to travel to Bosnia a couple of times a year (especially if he and his family have to pick up the expense) doesn’t necessarily make sense.
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Also, the number of spots at the youth level is much greater than those at the senior level. The guy who he is keeping from the youth team is unlikely to make it to the senior team anyway. Youth teams have age ranges of 2-3 years whereas players on the senior team can be there for 10-15 years or more in some cases (look at that guy from Argentina who plays with Miami so he doesn’t have to put the work in that he’d have to do to succeed in Europe). So yes he is taking a spot from someone else, but it’s unlikely to be someone who has long term potential with the national team.
The youth programs aren’t there for the player’s personal convenience though. They are for developing the future senior USMNT, not others.
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When bad faith youth players take up space, we know the investment was wasted at team detriment to benefit others. That includes missed opportunities with the forsaken had they been allowed to have those spots. Further, sincere solid youth prospects are wasting integration development with intended departers.
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Ireland come to mind. For decades, it profited from ‘granny rule’ English surplus players at senior level. Then English youths with an Irish option got the idea to misuse the Irish youth system to fly their kites for England if England hadn’t called them.
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Ireland wound up training senior England players like Jack Grealish, Declan Rice, Michael Keane, and Patrick Bamford. Former England coach Gareth Southgate more or less expanded England’s youth development via the Irish shirt. He’d focus on the most immediately visible English youths via the English setup while monitoring and cherrypicking the cusp players from Ireland if they showed promise. Meanwhile, youth players committed to Ireland went by the wayside for false prospects and team development planning and rythem got befouled by the departures. Ireland finally woke up to guard their youth program better.
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The screening won’t be perfect, but the expectations should be set. If someone prefers elsewhere, then direct them there.