Clearwater- With the plethora of arrivals and departures to the Philadelphia Union this week, one might forget that the club has its third preseason match on Friday.

However, with the club only 15 days away from its first regular-season match of 2025, it is busy preparing in Clearwater, Florida, during the second phase of the preseason.

“Part one of preseason camp was kind of sort of a macro scale,” said Union head coach Bradley Carnell during his weekly press conference.

“And now we’re really filing down with the individual and how each component fits into the picture. So, you know we’ve broken it down, and it’s been strategic, as well as the intensity starts creeping up now, and we’re pushing the loads. And now, you know, we’re driving competition a little harder. You know, we’re tracking winners and losers through training games.”

That competition will get a little more intense on Friday as the Union face familiar Eastern Conference foe FC Cincinnati at 5 p.m. This is not the first time they have faced Pat Noonan and company in preseason action. The match will mark the fourth consecutive season the two clubs have faced off in the preseason.

“I’m sure there’s always a bit of added spice with this fixture,” Carnell said when asked about the match. “There’s always something on the line. And, you know, it’s still early, early days, and it’s a good game for us to give some guys some extended minutes now. So we’ve got some foundations, built up some some platforms, and, you know, we can go a little bit longer in our in our schematic of who we’re pushing and what we’re trying to do.”

Originally marked as the only preseason game in Florida for the team, news recently broke of an additional match in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, Feb. 14, versus CF Montréal, giving the club a total of four preseason matches before the campaign.

Fans will be excited about the match, as it was announced earlier this week that the game will be streamed on YouTube starting at 5 p.m.

For those wondering about Nathan Harriel, an update was provided during the press conference on his health.

“Nate- he picked up in his first training session with us, he picked up a thigh strain. And, you know, he’s been progressing every day, but he’s not quite ready to get into full team training. So we just have to keep him on the sidelines here and progressing him as as needed.”

Carnell also mentioned that Ian Glavinovich, Olivier Mbaizo, and Andre Blake were dealing with some knocks. However, he added that they will be fine and that Blake is expected to participate in Friday’s match.

News of Blake being sidelined has made Union faithful curious about his health after he missed a significant portion of last season. Carnell did mention that he was pleased with the development of both Andrew Rick and Oliver Semmle, who backed up Blake last year.

“I think, yeah, Oliver and Andrew, they’ve shown what a good teammate should be, and supporting Andre here so, and I don’t think it’s just a support I’d like them to also put pressure, right? I mean, this is a, it’s a pro sports environment, and everyone needs a bit of competition. Everyone needs a bit of pressure. So I’ve seen some great things. It’s enjoyable to work with them.”

_{Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union}