Cincinnati – The Philadelphia Union traveled to TQL Stadium on Saturday, a location where they have struggled with getting wins and were up against a formidable lineup. It was a physical, thrilling match with both teams putting on a show. When the dust settled, however, the Union emerged victorious in a hard-fought 1-0 win despite playing with 10 men for the final half hour.
The starting lineup for the Union featured mostly the same personnel as the previous match in their typical 4-2-2-2 formation, with the exception of Nate Harriel starting in place of Frankie Westfield, who began the match on the bench. Andrew Rick was in goal in place of the still-recovering Andre Blake. Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Jakob Glesnes, and Harriel made up the back line. Danley Jean Jacques and Jovan Lukic were the defensive midfielders, while Milan Iloski and Quinn Sullivan were the attacking mids. Tai Baribo and Bruno Damiani rounded out the lineup at forward.
The teams did not waste any time getting physical and setting the tone, with several fouls called in the first few minutes and dangerous chances for both. Cincinnati got their first chance on a free kick in the 4th minute, but Rick was able to smother the ball.
The Union got their first chance a few minutes later with a near miss when Sullivan hit the woodwork with a cross from the right. Cincinnati nearly took the lead moments later when Dominik Marczuk received a great ball from Evander, but luckily for the Union, no one was there at the post to knock it in. The home squad continued to bring the pressure in the early going, and a shot by Evander on a free kick forced a fabulous save by Rick. The Union followed their keeper’s efforts with a promising looking shot by Iloski, but it went just wide right.
The Union got the first corner of the evening in the 22nd minute, but during the set up of the kick, Makhanya and Marczuk both received yellow cards for a tussle. Makhanya had been on yellow card accumulation warning going into the match, so that meant he would be missing the next match (Vancouver). The Union were starting to turn the momentum in their favor with a few corners in a row. Baribo got a big chance when he received a great ball from Harriel in front of the goal and was in the right spot to finish it, but his shot went wide. The Union controlled the match for the next several minutes, but Rick made another great save on a shot by Kévin Denkey when Cincinnati broke through.
As the three minutes of stoppage time were underway, Cincinnati forced a key block by Makhanya in front of goal, which led to a corner. Harriel had a huge clearance on a header off the goal line to thwart the attempt. Cincinnati came storming back, and Glesnes had to chase Brenner down. Glesnes made a tackle that earned him a yellow card, though the home crowd was clamoring for more than that. The Union would get the last chance of the half as Iloski snatched the ball on a turnover and went for a run down the field, passed it to Baribo, who set up Danley for a shot on target that was saved by Roman Celentano. The scene of Iloski and Danley sitting in disbelief and breathless on the field just after the referee blew his whistle felt like a tableau representative of the first half.
The Union came out with great energy in the second half, with Damiani and Iloski threatening. They finally found the back of the net with a phenomenal header by Damiani that came from a cross by Iloski to make it 1-0 in the 49th minute. It was his fifth MLS goal of the season. Baribo came close to doubling the lead minutes when Sullivan crossed the ball, Celentano deflected it up, and Baribo attempted to head it in. Marczuk, however got in the way of Baribo finishing it off.
Disaster struck for the Union as Makhanya received a second yellow for a poor tackle on Evander and was sent off in the 60th minute. It also set up a free kick for Evander in a dangerous area that saw Cincinnati get a few chances, but Harriel and Damiani were able to block the shots and clear the ball. After some build up, Iloski ripped a shot from the top left corner of the box that Celentano saved.
Bradley Carnell made his first changes shortly after as Frankie Westfield and Indiana Vassilev were brought on for Baribo and Sullivan. Cincinnati brought on their own reinforcements as they looked to go on the attack with the change in dynamic, and Evander just missed wide on a shot shortly after. Cincinnati continued to bring pressure, but Rick and the defense stood tall despite some corners and a barrage of chances for their opponent.
Carnell made his next change in the 73rd minute, bringing Mikael Uhre on for Damiani. Cincinnati had a brilliant build up that sent the ball to Brenner, who looked like he would have a great chance on net, but he sent it just wide—yet another missed chance for them.
The Union nearly got another goal in the 77th minute as Uhre went on a run, cross the ball in front of net to Iloski, who just could not get a good foot on the ball and sent it wide. The Union managed to stop some more Cincinnati chances, and then in the 84th minute brought in Jeremy Rafanello in place of Iloski. Right after, a distance shot came from Evander, who sent it wide, and then had another one go across goal minutes later. He and Baribo, both currently in third for the Golden Boot with 16 goals, also seemed to share the condition of being snakebitten in the match.
Five minutes of stoppage time were announced with the match still 1-0 in favor of Philadelphia, who were trying to just hold on. Harriel came up big with a block on Denkey’s shot, and the Union were able to finish it out to get a very hard fought three points in a gutsy win over a quality opponent. The win not only gave them more cushion atop the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings, but they also clinched a playoff berth.
“We knew this is going to be a tough game at the highest level,” Bradley Carnell commented after the match. “I think the two teams should be proud of the performance they put on here. It was a real statement for the MLS, you know, two different styles, a real battle to the end. We had to dig deep. We had to suffer at the end of the game there. But credit to these boys. Massive to celebrate our clean sheet, the 11th one and Rick’s sixth one—what a way to finish the game. Through stages of the game I thought we got better, even with a man down, and credit to the guys for digging deep. So extremely proud of these guys.”
The 19-year-old Rick earned his sixth clean sheet in the 1-0 win, and has shown incredible poise and confidence even in high-stakes situations, including the squad playing down a man. Additionally, the Union have the best goal differential in the league (+23) and have conceded the fewest goals on the road (11).
Carnell spoke highly of Rick’s performance and development. “I think one, as a young goalkeeper, you need to win the trust of your teammates. And Andrew does that every single day in training. And then two, you have to perform under pressure, but you have to learn how to thrive with the pressure, too. And I spoke about the two saves he makes early on, and the first one was excellent. The way the ball bounces on just before him, and the way he reads it and parries it away to the side. A lot of goalkeepers will just push that out, and somebody just taps it home. So to get the clearance on that one was was magnificent.
“And then through those actions, and I take it back to Atlanta—we played away in Atlanta, and he had one of his best games there that we’ve seen. And then today was probably on par with that. And you can just see the confidence growing within the group, and know that Rick’s got their back. And then all of a sudden, this is just now a bit of momentum building and taking your chances at the key times. I think we could have, and should have scored earlier and more, and even when we were a man down, I think we had one or two good moments as well.”
The victory was a statement to the rest of the league that the Union are dangerous, scrappy, and determined. They have belief in themselves, and have an amazing team culture. AppleTV broadcast commentator Ian Joy remarked about the joy on their faces, about them having fun out there, and “confidence is just flowing through the veins.” Carnell, his staff, and his team have something special going. They still have some tough matches ahead, but a victory of this nature gives them some great momentum into the home stretch.
The Union will enjoy next weekend off during the international break, though several players will be on international duty. They will return to MLS action on September 13 in Vancouver—another tough opponent. If Carnell’s squad has proven anything, it is that they can rise to the occasion.
Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union
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