Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia Union extended its unbeaten run but were left wanting more after battling Toronto FC to a 3-3 draw on Wednesday night. A draw seemed inevitable after Toronto rallied from down two, but Philly grabbed the lead once again in the 89th minute as homegrown Nathan Harriel headed home a corner kick. In the dying seconds of the match with all 22 players inside the Union box, TFC goalkeeper Luka Gavran headed home a cross to end the game at three a piece.
Player Ratings
Andre Blake — 5
A great save in the closing minutes of the first half, but ultimately conceded three goals, including an injury time goal. Hard not to wonder if he gave that goal up the moment he left his line.
Nathan Harriel — 8
Started out the night with a beautiful goal line save and finished off with a header from the center of the box for Philly’s third goal. Everything in between was a solid performance.
Olwethu Makhanya — 6
A strong start to the game, shutting down potential attacks multiple times in the opening minutes. Beat out by Sargent in the second half, leading to a Toronto goal. As tensions rose, he was booked for an unnecessary foul that gifted TFC a free kick in a dangerous area.
Japhet Sery — 6
Blocked Josh Sargent’s right footed shot from the center of the box in the closing minutes of the first half. Was booked in the 61′, but his most costly mistake might have been giving up a free kick after fouling Sargent in the 90’+5.
Frankie Westfield — 7
Three first-half shot attempts that left more to be desired, but as usual, an absolute workhorse on defense.
Jesús Bueno — 6.5
Not a flashy performance, but Bueno put the work in all 90+ minutes, breaking passes up and even registering a save in the box.
Danley Jean Jacques — 8
An unexpected deflection off his shin led to a great reward for the high press. Even after scoring, Danley kept the energy up, disrupting any Toronto play in midfield for much of the second-half.
Jovan Lukic — 7
Had a couple of his own attempts blocked in the opening 20 minutes, but hit his stride as he set Iloski up in the 45’+4 for the first goal of the match.
Indiana Vassilev — 6
The most noteworthy thing just might have been his run-in with Walker Zimmerman early on in the game.
Bruno Damiani — 6
A saved attempt from the center of the box as Damiani continues to struggle to find his stride.
Milan Iloski — 7.5
Drew a pair of fouls in ideal spots, but even that pales in comparison to his opening goal.
Substitutes
(65′) Alejandro Bedoya — 8
Not only did he apply pressure to get Toronto to concede a corner, he assisted on the goal off that very same corner.
(79′) Ezekiel Alladoh — N/A
(’82) Cavan Sullivan — N/A
(83′) Malik Jakupovic — N/A
Geiger Counter
REF Fotis Bazakos — 8
There will no doubt be talk of those last few minutes of second-half stoppage time, but overall, Bazakos seemed to call a fair game.
Player of the Match — Nathan Harriel
The goal line save has Harriel beating out Danley for this honor by the slimmest margin, but in the end, that block could have been the difference between going home with one point or none.
What’s Next…
Philadelphia Union continues its road trip, heading to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field to take on the Columbus Crew. Kickoff from Ohio is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on April 25th.
Andre was also in poor position on the first goal. Too close to the post. Showed too much of the net.
Tough one for Blake coming off his line like that, might deserve losing a point for that move. Looking at the 6s also tough for Makhanya getting frozen on Sargent’s goal, might lose a point there. Both those offset with good performances otherwise. As far as the other 6s? Damiani putting in effort but probably not deserving a 6 either just for his work rate. And Indy? Effort alone isn’t getting you there, would drop him 2 points. He isn’t a starter. Off the bench energizer bunny at the most.
Indy, at best would be a good USL Championship starter. He is trusted, obviously by Carnell, but even he has to see this “decline” (?) in his play.
I’d like to see Bedoya, Cavan start and play 60, Bueno deserves to start play 90… and add Stas upfront, let all 3 for 60 see what they can do together… with the kids coming off the bench to energize offense at 60.
Columbus is NOT the team it was even last year.
All three points, 4-2.
Six goals by Baribo and zero from the two highest paid transfers in Union history. Watching the DC vs Red Bulls game today and Baribo could have scored five with a little luck. For all those folks that said he started off hot last year then faded, this is why they should have never sold a proven goal scorer in MLS.