Fort Lauderdale – While the rain held off outside with only a few drops here and there before kickoff at Chase Stadium, the Philadelphia Union could not hold off Inter Miami from taking all three points after jumping out to a 2-0 lead—thanks to Robert Taylor and Lionel Messi—before eventually falling 2-1 on Saturday.
“Credit to the boys for turning the page in the second half and making a game of it,” said Philadelphia Union Head Coach Bradley Carnell post-match. “We give away two big moments and concede two goals, on another day I think, yeah, we walk away here with at least a point or could have been a walk away with three points, so a little bit frustrating.”
The loss extends Inter Miami’s win streak to four in a row over the Union since Messi joined the club. However, even in defeat, there is an opportunity for growth that could benefit the club later in the season.
Kai Wagner and Jovan Lukic
The Union played without their assist leader, Kai Wagner, on Saturday night. Wagner is currently sidelined with an abdominal injury and shared his thoughts on Instagram before the match. Frankie Westfield started in Wagner’s place at left back after playing that position last season for Union II.
Personally, you could tell the step up in level that Westfield faced. Last night was a learning experience for him—and a good one at that. While the team missed Wagner on set pieces and chance creation, Westfield once again showed heart and determination, just as he did when filling in for Nate Harriel.
As for why Jovan Lukic was subbed off at halftime for Indiana Vassilev, from what Carnell explained, it sounded as if it was more tactical than anything else.
“We needed a little bit through the middle of the field when we had the ball, and it was just very tactical to bring Indy on so we could try and progress through the layers a little bit more, through the thirds a little bit more, and I thought we started tightening the screw. I thought we started to get some more turnover. I thought we, you know, with the changes we made at half, there was a little bit more directness in our proactive press and a little bit more on the front foot.”
This was probably Lukic’s toughest match in terms of performance as he struggled at times in midfield. However, so did Danley Jean Jacques. Indiana Vassilev, who replaced Lukic at halftime, did a good job of sparking some opportunities in the second half and had an overall solid 45+ minutes.
The Union Are Creating but Not Finishing
Last night’s match saw the Union almost capitalizing on multiple opportunities due to their forwards creating space and getting into dangerous positions. The problem is the Union are not finishing those chances.
For example, Philadelphia created eight shots on target compared to Miami’s two. However, the difference was that when Miami had an opportunity to capitalize, they did—take the first goal of the match, for instance. The Union turned the ball over, Miami pounced on the transition, caught Philadelphia’s back line too high, and just like that, it was 1-0.
On the flip side, Union forward Mikael Uhre found space in the box and had Miami’s keeper dead to rights but produced a weak shot straight at the keeper. There were other missed opportunities as well—Bruno Damiani’s header comes to mind.
It’s early in the season, and Inter Miami’s defense did a good job at key moments, bending but not breaking. That’s why they have only conceded five goals all season. If the Union can find a way to convert a few more of these opportunities, they’ll be in good shape.
“We got momentum back in the game, and you know, I don’t know how many chances were saved off the line and what have you, so I thought what we did, we did it much better in the second half.”
Finishing Strong Mentality
We (Jillian and myself) and others have discussed this team’s character and personality as a squad. Indy shared with Todd Lewis how the culture was already there, and Carnell just added to it.
Last night was another perfect example of that. When Lionel Messi scored three minutes after coming off the bench, causing Chase Stadium to erupt, you might have thought that was it.
However, to Philadelphia’s credit, as they have done early this season, they kept the pedal down, trying to get back into the match.
It started with Daniel Gazdag’s second goal of the season, assisted by Quinn Sullivan and Chris Donovan, who recorded his first assist of the season.
Another key play was when former Union forward Fafa Picault and Union keeper Andre Blake both ran for a loose ball, resulting in a collision. After an injury scare earlier in the week while representing Jamaica, seeing Blake lay himself out like that to keep the deficit from growing is the kind of heart fans love to see and teammates appreciate. He would play as a sort of sweeper keeper multiple times.
These kinds of moments—while they didn’t result in points last night—can still serve as valuable experience for fighting back and securing points or winning matches. It goes to show the no-quit attitude this team currently has.
“I think we’re good enough to get a point at least tonight or maybe three,” said Carnell.
Up Next
While Messi and company head to Chester in a few weeks, the Union have another difficult task this Saturday as Orlando City comes to town, fresh off a 2-1 victory over defending MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy in Los Angeles. They will be looking to repay the Union for their earlier-season matchup.
The match is scheduled for April 5th at 7:30 PM at Subaru Park and will be available on Apple TV as part of the MLS Season Package.
Union II Draw Huntsville City FC 2-2, Fall in Shootout
Jillian Almoney
On Friday, Union II traveled to Alabama to face Huntsville City FC, and would take home one point via a 2-2 draw, but fell short of securing a second point as they lost the shootout. Of the three games they have played so far, all have been draws. A big change was Oliver Semmle in goal- his first appearance for either Union squad this season. Also, Rafael Uzcátegui made his first start for Union II.
Huntsville opened the scoring early as Christian Koffi scored in the 7′. Sal Olivas found the equalizer in first half stoppage time to make it 1-1 going into halftime- his first goal of the season. In the 59′, Cavan Sullivan scored his second goal of the season to make it 2-1 in favor of Union II, but Huntsville leveled it in the 67′ on a goal by Damien Barker John.
Once again, Union II would be tested in a penalty shootout. Unfortunately, the Huntsville keeper made two saves (Semmle made one), with the deciding attempt by Markus Anderson having to be redone after the keeper came off the line. Despite the keeper seemingly coming off his line again, his save on Anderson stood. Of note, this was Anderson’s first appearance of the season after dealing with an injury, and came on in the 65′.
Union II will be back in action at Subaru Park on Thursday, April 10 at 7:00 PM as they take on Atlanta United 2. It will air on MLS Season Pass on AppleTV.
Main Photo Credit: Philadelphia Union
The One Team We Agree On 
Leave a comment