Montreal – The Philadelphia Union began what will be a busy May slate on Saturday night in Montreal, where the Union had not won since 2020. After 90 minutes of what was another grind-it-out, could-have-been-better match, the Union picked up three points in a 2-1 victory thanks to a late Mikael Uhre goal to start the month of May on a positive note.

Speaking to the media post-match, Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell shared his thoughts on the night’s performance:

“We expected a tough game here, oftentimes, as a new coach, the team plays motivated. And I think we got in exactly a motivated Montreal team tonight, and we told the boys before the game, we had to weather the storm. And then the way we scored the first goal, straight out the blocks, was excellent. It kind of set us up for the tone. And I thought the back line was magnificent tonight. You know everybody, the back four and the two sixes. I thought everyone put in a real shift tonight. We found a way to win in the end. And that’s always a sign of a good team. I’m happy we could have, you know, sealed the three points here for the players tonight, and put on a big performance. And we dug deep. And yeah, it’s not the easiest place to play tough to come here. And I think this is the first time that I’ve picked up points here. So congrats to the boys, massive for them.”

With their U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match this coming Wednesday in Chester, Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell showed some rotation in Saturday’s starting eleven. Most notably, forward Chris Donovan got the start alongside Tai Baribo for his first start of the 2025 season. Donovan had played 75 minutes, recording one assist so far this season. Olewethu Makhanya got his first start alongside Jakob Glesnes, and Jovan Lukic returned to the starting eleven after serving a red card suspension last match.

Philadelphia got off to a hot start. In the second minute, a turnover in the defensive end allowed the Union to break forward into open space. Danley Jean Jacques dropped the ball off to a wide-open Indiana Vassilev, whose strike banged the back of the net, giving the Union an early 1-0 lead. For Indiana, it was his first goal of the season and his first as a member of the Philadelphia Union.

C.F. Montreal would fight back shortly after, creating a shot that was saved by Andre Blake. However, they kept the pressure on, trying to get in behind the Union’s center backs—efforts that were snuffed out by Makhanya and Glesnes early on.

Montreal had another big chance in the 30th minute, as a cross into the box nutmegged Union goalkeeper Andre Blake and rolled just wide of the net. The Union would get another opportunity moments later to increase their lead, as a shot from Indiana Vassilev was saved by C.F. Montreal keeper Jonathan Sirois. The ball spilled out of the net, just missing the outstretched foot of Tai Baribo.

With two minutes of added stoppage time, Montreal kept trying to break down the Union defense, which they finally did in the dying moments of the first half. A ball delivered into the box, which the Union were unable to clear, found the feet of Vrioni, who made them pay to level the game at one. A missed clearance by Olewethu Makhanya really cost Philadelphia as both teams headed into halftime.

No substitutions were made as the second half kicked off. The first big chance came from Montreal in the 55th minute, as a pass in the box sailed over the net for a corner kick. Carnell brought on Bruno Damiani for Chris Donovan as his side’s first substitution of the night.

As the match entered the 60th minute, Montreal continued to attack down the left side, causing havoc on that wing and dictating play against the Union defense. The Union avoided another massive opportunity when a ball in the box almost found the back of the net.

On the night, it was a bend-but-don’t-break defensive performance for the Union. While they were unlucky to concede, Carnell had thoughts on the defense’s performance.

“If it wasn’t Jakob, it was Makanya, and if it wasn’t Makanya, it was Jakob and, you know, I think with Sealy, you know, we had to double down and double the effort there. Because, yeah, they had a lot of quality going forwards. And, yeah, they played with a lot of, I wouldn’t say, you know, yeah, with something new. It had a bit of vigor, a vibe about them. So we knew we had to weather those storms, and we had to dig deep. And yeah, we came up trumps. And really happy for the guys with their defensive head. But this was magnificent tonight.”

Philadelphia’s second substitutions were Mikael Uhre coming in for Tai Baribo and Nathan Harriel for Indiana Vassilev.

In the 77th minute, Sealy was tripped up by Jovan Lukic in the box. While it initially was not ruled a penalty, the play went to VAR and the referee ruled it was not a penalty—giving Philadelphia a huge break.

In the 82nd minute, Philadelphia found the back of the net as Mikael Uhre scored his second goal of the season off an assist from Jovan Lukic—his first of the year. While the initial shot was blocked by Sirois, the ball took a lucky bounce and rolled into the back of the net.

For Uhre, he is now tied with former teammate Julián Carranza for the fifth-most MLS goals (34) in club history. The goal was also Uhre’s fifth all-time against C.F. Montreal.

“Every striker wants to score goals, think all of our strikers are, exactly the DNA of what we want and require from our strikers, in our in our game model. And it’s tiring, right? And when they get the ball, they often guessed, so we have to keep on thinking of ways and ways to give them a little bit of respite. When they come back in the game, find space between the lines, and I think, yeah, the way we set up the goal, you know, in 84th minute, you know, a little bit of calm coming back in the game, picking up the second scrapping for it, and then finding a very good pass on the weak side. So yeah, I’m just happy for Mikael. He’s been working hard.” And yeah, it’s good for everybody.”

The Union’s fourth substitution saw Jesus Bueno come in for Quinn Sullivan and Jeremy Rafanello for Jovan Lukic as the Union looked to lock it down in the final moments. With six minutes of stoppage time added, the Union held firm and secured three points with the final whistle, kicking off May on a high note.

With the victory, Philadelphia currently sits in second place in the MLS Eastern Conference with 22 points in 11 games (with games still to be played). They are also off to their best start in club history through 11 games, collecting 22 points and boasting a +11 goal differential.

“If you can just see the guys, the faces, how relieved they are, because they know they put in a big shift tonight and to find the quality and the key moments to to put them under. And I thought the way they managed when we scored the goal, I thought the next 10 minutes, 12 minutes that we managed the game. Oh, it was fun to watch. Everyone we brought in had a specific job to do, and they did that excellently. So, yeah, a real team effort tonight. From the staff preparing for the game. I think the players executing, I think the subs coming in and making an impact. I thought everybody had a role to play.”

The Philadelphia Union return home on Wednesday, May 7th, when they host USL Championship side Indy Eleven at 7:30 p.m. The match will be available on Paramount Plus.

Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.