Chester — It was a cool, overcast evening as the Philadelphia Union returned to MLS action on Saturday. While it wasn’t always pretty, the Union did what they’ve done so often this season: grind out a late goal, rely on timely plays on both sides of the ball, and get heroics from an unexpected source. This time it was Markus Anderson, whose stoppage‑time strike sealed a 2‑1 win for the home side.
“I told the boys before the game, we won this game based on last week’s result against the Atlas team, said Carnell. “We had to dig deep. The squad’s very thin at the moment, with all the guys out and with all the guys traveling. So, you know, we dug deep there against Atlas, and I think that gave us a base and a foundation. Gave us different looks at different guys, and credit to everyone who played a part today. I mean, the fans were amazing here at Subaru Park, stayed with us till the end and enjoyed this special moment with us to get the points at the death.”
With several players away on international duty and two forwards still recovering from injury, head coach Bradley Carnell rolled out a 4‑3‑2‑1, making a few changes from the draw in Dallas. Bruno Damiani led the line as the lone striker, while Indiana Vassilev and Ben Bender flanked Alejandro Bedoya, Jovan Lukic, and Jesús Bueno in midfield.
The back four also had a fresh look: Olivier Mbaizo made just his second start of the year, joining Jakob Glesnes, Olwethu Makhanya, and Kai Wagner in front of goalkeeper Andrew Rick.
Early on, the Union struggled to find a rhythm. Misplaced passes out of the back and a labored midfield meant chances were scarce. Charlotte’s first real opening came when Mbaizo left a pass short, but Makhanya blocked the resulting shot with his chest to keep things level.
Despite the disjointed play, Philadelphia still found pockets of space, yet they spent too long on the ball and, after 40 minutes, had fired five shots without hitting the target. The first shot on goal finally arrived when Bender’s driven cross found Damiani, whose effort drew a sharp save from David Bingham. The pressure mounted and, two minutes into first‑half stoppage time, the Union struck: Rick played out through Mbaizo, who switched the field to Bender; his deflected cross fell kindly to Bueno, and the Venezuelan lashed home his first goal of 2025—the club’s 14th different scorer this season—to put the Union up 1‑0 at the break.
Carnell made a double change at half‑time, introducing Frankie Westfield for Mbaizo and Chris Donovan for Bedoya. Bueno limped off after a collision early in the second half and, despite briefly returning, was replaced by Anderson—his first appearance of the campaign.
The Union nearly doubled the lead in the 74th minute when Glesnes split the defense with a through ball, but Donovan’s finish lacked conviction. Charlotte punished the miss four minutes later: Jahkeele Marshall‑Rutty’s cross found Wilfried Zaha, who beat Westfield and tucked the ball past Rick for 1‑1.
Both sides exchanged dangerous moments down the stretch, and with five minutes of stoppage time announced, Carnell threw on 15‑year‑old Cavan Sullivan for Damiani in search of a spark. It arrived deep into the eighth added minute. Westfield’s low cross skipped beneath Sullivan and rolled to Anderson, who coolly swept it past Bingham. According to MLS Communications, the 97:58 winner is the latest game‑winning goal in club history.
“Going forward just brings a lot of confidence to me, and I hope just helps me keep going forward and just keep bringing the energy that I bring, especially to it also versus Atlas, just keep moving forward and not stepping back.” Anderson said post match.
Giving players such as Anderson, Sullivan, Rafanello, and other homegrowns meaningful minutes in high‑leverage situations—against Charlotte, in Montréal, and versus LA Galaxy—has bolstered the coaching staff’s trust and accelerated their development. It also explains why the Union already have 15 different goal‑scorers through 18 league matches. Carnell remarked post-match:
“We closed the game out in a real professional way. We controlled, we dominated the field. Tilt was always in their end. So yeah, through these moments of belief in training, pushing these players in training as well to make sure they’re getting up to the right periodization in terms of fitness and just connectedness to the group, individual training sessions, individual meetings, video sessions we don’t just focus on 11 players, and I think that’s the beauty of you know, credit to the staff. And I’ve spoken about alignment since day one, that we want to be aligned. And I think you’re starting to see the byproduct winning is the result.”
After the final whistle blew on the evening, Carnell and staff led the players around the pitch celebrating with the fans and thanking them for their support- something that Bradley felt was very important to him and the team:
“It’s pretty emotional for my staff, for me personally, you know, just, I think the first three games, you know, when we were here at Subaru Park, 82 minutes in, and the fans are leaving despite us winning results. And I was told it’s the Philly culture, right? It’s the Philly- it’s just the way it is. To see all the fans staying tonight was massive. To see them rallying late on in the game, gives me goosebumps, right? So this is amazing. And if we can try and collectively make this place a real tough place for people to come and teams to play.”
The win lifts Philadelphia back to the top of the Supporters’ Shield race with 37 points—matching their entire 2024 haul—and two points clear of Vancouver, who lost 2‑1 in Columbus. The Union now have a welcome week off to rest and recharge before a three‑match road swing to Chicago, Columbus, and Nashville kicks off the final 16‑game stretch of the season.
Main Article Photo Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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