CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—For the third match in a row, Philadelphia Union II just could not find the back of the net. While they boast a lot of young talent, they are just that: young. Going up against independent MLS Next Pro side Chattanooga FC, whose squad is made up of mostly twenty-somethings, many in their late twenties and some even older, brings a different challenge to a squad of mostly teenagers.
Coach Chris Harmon said ahead of the match that the age difference would not be an excuse. “We can’t be naive in these types of games, because yeah, you’re playing against guys who have a lot more of experience. We don’t use this as an excuse. This is a a development accelerator for us. We love to be able to play these types of games. Anytime you play against men, it’s an extra bit of motivation for us.”
Unfortunately, it was more of a learning experience match for the lads who bring the competitiveness and skills, but are just in a bit of a rut at the moment.
Coach Chris Harmon made a few changes to the lineup from the previous match, with Pierce Holbrook being back in net. Willyam Ferreira and Giovanny Sequera returned to the starting lineup at attacking midfield and right back, respectively. Matheus De Paula was pushed back up to defensive mid, paired with Timo Mendoza. As usual, Jordan Griffin was at left back, and Rafael Uzcátegui and Finn Sundstrom were at center back. Kellan LeBlanc started at attacking mid, and the striker pair of Eddy Davis and Malik Jakupovic were up top.
Union II started out with some chances by Davis and LeBlanc, but the 41-year-old keeper and relative of Malik, Eldin Jakupovic, was up to the task with the saves. Ferreira then received the first booking of the match, receiving a yellow for fouling former Union II player and homegrown Anton Sorenson. The free kick that followed was passed back to the CFC keeper, who sent a long ball forward to Ameziane Sid Mohand, who in turn beat Sequera and shot the ball past the diving Holbrook to make it 1-0 in the 12th minute.
Union II and CFC each had some attempts, and Sorenson was booked in the 34th minute for a foul as the first have wore on. CFC then cashed in on a deep throw-in that Nathan Koehler headed over the reach of Holbrook in the 37th minute to double their lead.
Coming out of halftime, Union II made one change, replacing Ferreira with Óscar Benítez. Davis went toward net in the early moments of the half, but was unable to get the shot on frame or to Malik Jakupovic, who was ready in front of the goal. It would be CFC who would counter after Union II’s shots following a corner were blocked, and Damien Barker John made it 3-0 in the 47th minute after a pass from Daniel Mangarov.
It seemed that Union II had gotten one back in the 53rd minute when Benítez headed in the ball off a LeBlanc free kick, but it was negated by the offside flag. In fact, it was one of the seven offsides committed by Union II on the night.
Malik Jakupovic, who had a few shots in the match but was left still looking for his first goal in a few months, was subbed off for Sal Olivas in the 57th minute. Tyler Gladstone then replaced LeBlanc in the 65th.
Olivas and Davis made Eldin Jakupovic make a couple saves, but still could not find the back of the net, and Olivas just missed again in the 71st minute.
CFC tacked on a fourth goal then in the 75th when Alexander Krehl passed to an unmarked Daniel Mangarov, who knocked it right in. More changes then came for Union II as John Ruf and Kaiden Moore replaced Davis and Griffin, respectively, in the 79th minute.
Things almost went from bad to even worse when Sundstrom fouled Yuval Cohen inside the box, resulting in Chattanooga being awarded a penalty kick. Cohen took the kick from the spot, however Holbrook made a great save to thwart the attempt in the 83rd minute.
Sundstrom came up big a few moments later with a clearance off the goal line to keep the scoreline from getting even further away. With time running out in stoppage time, Benítez received a booking for a foul. The match finally ended with Union II suffering their second defeat in a row, and third without a goal, despite 13 shots and six on target. At the time of this article, Union II are in 11th place at 7-10-3 and their goal differential has fallen to -6, which despite a strong defense, has not been helped by the lack of scoring. They will have to try to get a result on the road once again when they travel to Belson Stadium to face NYCFC II, once again in a Saturday match at the same time as the first team.
Main article photo courtesy of Chattanooga FC.
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