Chester – Saturday night in Cincinnati, Ohio is expected to be a critical battle not only for the MLS Eastern Conference standings but also for the Supporters’ Shield race, when the Philadelphia Union face off against FC Cincinnati for the second time this year. It’s a clash between two of the league’s top three teams battling for position in the table, with only six matches left for either side in the season.
But as Bradley Carnell knows from his squad’s first 28 matches of the season, these sorts of matchups have happened throughout the year, and the magnitude doesn’t matter much to him or his team.
“We’ve often met teams, one against two, and it’s been a common denominator that it’s been us and against somebody else,” Carnell said. “So that’s, you know, credit to the group. And, yeah, credit to the way that we’ve clawed our way or clawed ourselves. When we’ve hit a stretch where it doesn’t go our way, we bounce right back. And the group’s pretty resilient right now. I don’t want to say, you know, confident in the way that things happen automatically. We have to grind. We have to work for everything we get.”
And work they have. The Union have grinded their way to 54 points this season, just one point shy of tying the totals of the 2019 and 2023 squads for second-most points in an MLS season.
However, some may argue that as good as this season has been so far, the next three contests — all on the road — could be the biggest challenge yet. Philadelphia visits Cincinnati, then after a week off, travels to Vancouver, who currently sit sixth overall in the league and third in the Western Conference. The Union will then wrap up their road trip just three days later with the U.S. Open Cup Semifinal match in Nashville, hoping to land a spot in the Final.
For Carnell, though, he views the next three matches just like any other during the course of the season.
“I feel the first three games of this season were way bigger than this game, you know, for me, setting the tone very early on, getting points in the bank, accumulating little streaks here and there, and going unbeaten through May,” he said. “I think that’s been the biggest challenges right now. Now, I don’t want to say we’ve achieved something, but the guys have a lot of credit in the bank, and, at this point now, I think it’s excitement, enjoyment, freedom. So yeah, we’re trying to learn to embrace the emotion, to enjoy the pressure and move on with that.”
There will certainly be pressure and emotion when these two teams meet at TQL Stadium, a place where the home side has dominated recently. Outside of last year’s 4-2 Union victory in Leagues Cup, Cincinnati has won four of the last five meetings there, including four straight league matches.
Adding to their strength, Sporting Director Chris Albright bolstered the squad with four talented summer signings to complement Evander and Denkey, making Pat Noonan’s side even more dangerous in their push for the Shield and MLS Cup.
Cincinnati acquired Polish midfielder Dominik Marczuk on loan from Real Salt Lake, Ghanaian forward Samuel Gidi, Ayoub Jabbari on loan from Grenoble of Ligue 2, and also brought back former striker Brenner on loan from Serie A side Udinese. Brenner has one career goal against Philadelphia.
Still, as daunting as the task may sound, the Union beat Cincinnati 4-1 in their second match of the year back in March, thanks to a Tai Baribo hat trick and a Bruno Damiani goal in his Union debut. And while Cincinnati was in the middle of a CONCACAF Champions Cup run and rotated heavily, the Union still outclassed them that night. As mentioned earlier, whenever this club looks down and out, they find a way to grind out a point — or even three.
There was more good news this week as Andre Blake returned to the training pitch for the first time. While he remains in recovery protocol, which Carnell said is expected to take three to four weeks, it was encouraging to see him back on the field. Indiana Vassilev is also questionable, still recovering from a head injury, but was seen out at training on Friday with the squad—a great sign.
The Union also addressed their backup goalkeeper situation behind Andrew Rick until Blake’s return, signing former Charlotte FC SuperDraft pick George Marks, who was recently released after the club brought in Drake Callender from Inter Miami.
Marks made eight MLS appearances, recording 31 saves and two clean sheets. He also featured in two U.S. Open Cup matches and nine games for Crown Legacy FC.
“Great character,” said Bradley when asked about his thoughts on the keeper signed for the remainder of the season. “Came in head up, held high, knows he has to help out a team in need. And he knows a couple of the guys here, obviously, Ben [Bender], Nate [Harriel], and he’s just really hit the ground running, he’s done some great things in training already. And yeah, he seems like a good fit for our group, not just on the field, but also in the locker room.”
It’s sure to be a physical and intense match, as it always is when these two sides meet. Three points on the night would be a huge boost heading into the final five league matches plus the Open Cup. Even walking out with a point would hardly be a bad result.
Either way, Philadelphia knows Saturday will be a tough battle, but they are ready for the roller coaster of emotions that comes with it.
“You know for sure, we have a style of play that brings a lot of emotion, and I think that’s just natural, said Carnell. So, we we’re going to start the game in the way we do. We can’t change who we are. We don’t have different spots; like a leopard, we we have one clear coat, and that’s who we are. And we stick by that and make sure we live and die by that. So yeah, which comes with emotion.”
The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and will be available on Apple TV+ as part of the MLS Season Pass.
Main Article Photo Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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