Photo Philadelphia Union II Communications

Saturday night at St. Johns University in Queens on Long Island, Philadelphia Union II and New York City FC II renewed their rivalry producing a 1-1 draw in regulation and an 8-7 penalty kick shootout extra point for the hosts.

Although Philadelphia Union II ended its five game scoring drought thanks to an assist from left back Jordan Griffin to on-rushing right back Matheus De Paula that tied the match and forced it to penalty kicks, the boys from Chester did not advance their playoff hopes in any substantial way. Union II goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook played well in the first half to keep the visitors in it. But an own goal in the 51st minute had done what New York could not do for itself on the night and created the need for De Paula’s heroics.

In advance

The first team played at home in Chester the same evening that Union II traveled to Queens, so no double participation was possible by first team deep reserves. Players were either with the first team in Chester or they were on the bus northward to the western end of Long Island. 

The usual first teamers played with the second team. And Stas Korzeniowski returned. That the pitch surface was artificial turf did not caution against him receiving a medical rehabilitation start to recondition his knee and himself.

Including this game Union II had eight matches left  with which to climb towards a playoff position. NYC FC II had 10. Philadelphia lay 12th in the eastern conference table on 26 points from 20 games played. The junior Cityzens lay 10th on 28 points from 18. Philadelphia lay four places below playoff qualification while New York lay two.

First half

The first half went much the way most of the previous five games had gone, especially offensively. New York City FC II dominated possession in the midfield. They outshot Philadelphia 15 to three and shots on target were five to one.  Pierce Holbrook kept Philadelphia in the game with several excellent saves.

Union II came out on the front foot and the first ten minutes were fairly even. Then the next ten or twelve minutes were almost entirely in Philadelphia’s defensive half. New York high pressure prevented Union II from doing anything more than lofting long balls towards the green space behind New York’s back line.

Slowly the visitors began to adapt to the New York high press. For the longest time Philadelphia had been credited with only one shot. That changed in the last five or so minutes of the period.

Philadelphia was fortunate that their hosts were not shooting accurately.

Second half

Neither coach made any substitutions at halftime.

Philadelphia interim head coach Chris Harmon clearly adjusted some attitudes though. The visitors became much more aggressive with their own pressure. And we suspect that New York was beginning to tire from playing a style more intense than their normal one. We draw that conclusion because all three substitutions coach Pilkington made during the half were necessitated by cramps intense enough that the player could not continue.

The match’s physicality began to get out of control as time passed. More than half of the yellow cards came during stoppage time, indicating the chippy-ness of a rivalry game and a lack of control by the match officials.

Coach Harmon continued his developmental responsibilities when making his subs, but this time those players seemed to have a more positive effect on play than previously. Philadelphia ended the match putting offensive pressure on New York.

Shootout

The regulation draw was the first time Union II and NYC FC II had not won outright in the thirteen matches the two teams have played against each other. The Penalty kick shootout went eight rounds. All sixteen shots were on frame. Former Bethlehem Steel FC goalkeeper Tomas Romero saved Sal Olivas’s eighth round penalty to secure the extra point for the hosts.

With the single point, Philadelphia remain in 12th place five points and four places below the playoff line. They have seven games remaining.

Next match

Union next play on the eighth day, at 3:00 PM Sunday, August 9th at Subaru Park in Chester hosting FC Cincinnati 2, the same day the first team plays Necaxa in the Leagues Cup also at Subaru Park. Union II taps off at 3:00 PM. The first team taps off at 7:30 PM. Any afternoon lightning delays would create an interesting situation.

Three points

1.  Abdoulaye Diop made an impact on the end of the match in a way he had not done previously.

2.  Oscar Benitez and Gio Sequera will serve their suspensions for the final match of the season, against NYC FC II in Chester on September 20th, since MLS NEXT Pro has suspensions served against the same team the next time they meet, if the meeting is in the same season. 

3.  De Paula’s goal was the first Union II has scored in a regular season match since June 21st, at least five consecutive games plus eighty minutes of the sixth. 

B O X S C O R E

Lineups

Union II (4-2-2-2, L-R). Interim head coach Chris Harmon. Starters Ave. Age = 19.8

Starters: Pierce Holbrook; Jordan Griffin (Kaiden Moore,81′), Rafael Uzcategui, Finn Sundstrom, Matheus De Paula; Timo Mendoza (Abdoulaye Diop, 81′), Oscar Benitez; Kellen LeBlanc (Gio Sequera,64′), ; Eddy Davis (Willyam Ferreira,90+1′), Malik Jakupovic, Stas Korzeniowski (Sal Olivas, 81′).

Holbrook	Griffin	Uzcategui	Sundstrom	De Paula	Mendoza
U II	U II	U II	1st	AA	AA
23.3 y/o	17.8 y/o	21.8 y/o	19.7 y/o	17.7 y/o	17.1 y/o
Benitez	LeBlanc	Davis	Korzeniowski	Jakupovic
U II	U II	1st	1st	1st
22.2 y/o	18.4 y/o	20.1 y/o	23.5 y/o	17.1 y/o

Substitutes: Matthew White;  Mamoutou Berthe, Tyler Gladstone, Oliver Pratt.

White	Moore	Berthe	Diop	Ferreira
AA	U II	U II	AA	U II
16.8 y/o	18.7 y/o	19.6 y/o	16.5 y/o	17.5 y/o
Sequera	Gladstone	Pratt	Olivas
U II	AA	U II	1st
20.5 y/o	17.1 y/o	22.8 y/o	20.0 y/o

NYC FC II (4-2-3-1). Head coach Matt Pilkington. Full squad ave. age per Trasnfermarkt  = 21.4

Starters: Tomas Romero; Jonathan Lopez, Joao Loiola, Max Murray, Adonis Campos (Luka Sunjic, 84′); Peter Molinari, Kyle Pierre; Elhadji Samb (Joseph Suchecki, 84′), Cooper Flax, Juan Ponce; Seymour Reid (James Bilden, 62′).

Substitutes: Dylan McDermott; David Duque, Gil De Souza, Eoin Martin, Caleb Danquah, Niccolo Vafiades.

 Goals

NYCFCII     51st minute       Timo Mendoza (own goal)

Union II       80th minute       Matheus De Paula (Jordan Griffin)

  Yellow Cards

Union II      10th minute       Jordan Griffin

NYCFCII    67th minute       Juan Ponce

Union II     67th minute.      Gio Sequera.

Union II      69th minute       Oscar Benitez

NYCFCII    90+5 minute      Luka Sunjic

Union II      90+8 mInute     Oscar Benitez (2nd yellow, hence Red)

NYCFCII    90+10 minute   Joao Loiola

Union II      90+11 minute    Gio Sequera (2nd yellow, hence Red)

Union II      90+11 minute    Kaiden Moore

  Whistle & Flags

REF: Salvador Flores; AR1: Achal Awasthi; AR2: Jennifer Dumaine; 4TH: Shaye Lane.

Stats

NY II	Statistic	U II	NY II	Statistic	U II
17	Shots	10	3	Offsides	2
7	Shots on goal	3	2	Goalkeeper Saves	7
6	Blocked shots	4	2	Clearances	9
452	Total Passes	277
83.6	Pass Accuracy %	72.6	14	Fouls	17
5	Corners	2	3	Yellow Cards	6
12	Total Crosses	9		Red Cards	2

Shootout

Shot 1st NYC FC II			Shot 2nd  :Union II
versus Holbrook		RND	versus Romero
Flak	goal	1	Jakupovic     goal
Molinari	goal	2	Uzcategui     goal
Pierre	goal	3	Moore           goal
Suchecki	goal	4	Ferreira         goal
Ponce	goal	5	De Paula       goal
Lopez	goal	6	Sundstrom.   goal
Sunjic	goal	7	Diop.             goal
Murray	goal	8	Olivas         saved