CHESTER, Pa. — With the Philadelphia Union riding a two-match winning streak heading into Saturday’s match against Atlanta United, Ryan Richter has consistently spoken in recent matches about the belief the squad has had since the restart of the MLS season following the World Cup break.
And while the Union found themselves up a man early following a red card issued to Atlanta United, Philadelphia also found themselves down two goals for much of the contest. For a time, it looked as if they would fall back to the bottom of the league.
But the belief and heart of this squad were on full display. Following a Milan Iloski goal and two assists from Kai Wagner, the home side mustered two stoppage-time goals, including an Ezekiel Alladoh game-winner, to come back from two goals down and steal the match at the death in a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory.
“It’s the energy, the mentality to fight, and then you turn these games your way,” Richter said post match about the team’s performance. “So everyone in the building, thank you. I’m proud of the guys, proud of the staff, and yeah, it was a crazy night.”
“Everybody in this team has belief in the moment,” Kai Wagner said after the match. “We were on the front foot, showed really good character from the team, and I’m really really proud of the team today.”
Saturday’s starting XI marked the first time Philadelphia had used the same starting lineup in back-to-back matches this season, perhaps providing a glimpse into what to expect from interim head coach Ryan Richter moving forward.
The starting XI consisted of Andre Blake, Frankie Westfield, Neil Pierre, Nathan Harriel, Kai Wagner, Jovan Lukic, Danley Jean Jacques, Cavan Sullivan, Indiana Vassilev, Bruno Damiani, and Milan Iloski.
The bench consisted of Andrew Rick, Geiner Martinez, Alejandro Bedoya, Japhet Sery Larsen, Ben Bender, Jesús Bueno, Quinn Sullivan, Agustin Anello, and Ezekiel Alladoh.
Philadelphia earned the first free kick of the match in the second minute. Wagner drove the ball into the box, creating a dangerous opportunity. However, Damiani collided with Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos, resulting in a foul against Philadelphia.
For most of the opening 15 minutes, it seemed like the visitors’ strategy was to slow the match down, frustrate Philadelphia, and capitalize on any mistakes with counterattacks.
Iloski, who entered the match riding a streak of seven goals in five matches, saw his attempt blocked, leading to a corner kick.
A foul by Enea Mihaj on Iloski earned the defender a straight red card in the 26th minute, forcing Atlanta to play the remainder of the match down a man.
That did not seem to matter for Tata Martino’s squad, however. Just four minutes later, Miguel Almirón held off Westfield and Pierre. Although the midfielder went to the ground, his shot slipped underneath Blake and rolled into the net, giving Atlanta United a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.
Philadelphia nearly equalized in the 43rd minute when Pierre headed a Wagner corner kick on target, forcing Hoyos to tip the ball over the crossbar and deny the young center back his second goal in three matches.
With five minutes of stoppage time, Cavan Sullivan drove a shot on target, forcing Hoyos to make another diving save. Then, on the subsequent corner, Westfield’s volley struck the top of the crossbar, wasting two prime opportunities for the Union as the first half came to an end.
“The message was clear at halftime how we have to break them down. Like we said, expecting them to sit deeper, and it’s probably going to have to go around them and create a lot of crossing situations,” Richter mentioned about the message at half.
Philadelphia started the second half with four consecutive corner kicks but were unable to find an equalizer despite keeping the pressure on Atlanta.
Harriel picked up a yellow card in the 53rd minute after fouling Miguel Almirón.
Jesus Bueno and Quinn Sullivan entered the match in the 57th minute for Vassilev and Lukic. After Hoyos held the ball too long, referee Alan Chapman awarded the Union a corner kick, and Philadelphia nearly converted from it through Jean Jacques.
Following protests from the Atlanta defense, Hoyos received a yellow card for dissent from Chapman.
Tristan Muyumba extended Atlanta United’s lead to 2-0 in the 66th minute, finishing a pass from Alexey Miranchuk and quieting the crowd.
Richter went to his bench again, bringing on Alladoh and Anello for Damiani and Harriel. The Union finally broke through in the 73rd minute when Iloski’s clever finish beat Hoyos to cut the deficit to one.
For Iloski, it was his eighth goal in six matches.
Quinn Sullivan’s flick-on to his younger brother forced Hoyos into a fingertip save, but the young Homegrown was not finished. He unleashed another shot that hit the side netting, narrowly missing a crucial chance to level the match.
With eight minutes of stoppage time announced, Philadelphia continued pressing for the equalizer, but Atlanta’s defensive shape and tactics kept the Union at bay.
As the match drew to a close, Philadelphia finally broke through in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Kai Wagner’s cross into the box found the head of Pierre, who finished neatly to level the match at 2-2. For Neil Pierre, it was his second goal in three matches since returning from loan this summer.
“I’m happy for him, and obviously, it’s a another weapon that the team has,” Ryan said on his younger center back. “He’s super dangerous on set pieces. I think he hit the bar in the first half from a corner, and it’s not only just his size and his athleticism. It’s his timing, it’s his technique, and it’s his bravery and the positions that he he puts himself in and the way that he’s willing to attack the ball.”
“To be honest, can’t even really remember it,” Neil Pierre said about his goal that leveled the match. “I just really jumped up. I low-key closed my eyes. And it just went in the goal, so I was happy.”
Philadelphia were not finished. Just one minute later, another move started by Wagner found the foot of Alladoh, who scissor-kicked a volley past Atlanta’s goalkeeper to give Philadelphia their first lead of the match in the seventh minute of stoppage time and hand the Union a dramatic 3-2 lead. The goal was Alladoh’s first in MLS play.
“I mean, what a goal to score,” Richter said about the goal. “What a moment to score it. I think he can put himself in position to probably get easier goals than that. But again, happy for him, proud of him, and hopefully that he takes a lot of confidence from this going forward, and shows a little bit of the talent that he has, and what he can do to contribute to this team.”
Even thought he was happy about scoring his first goal, Alladoh was more happy for the team than his individual accolades on the evening.
“I don’t think about the, like, my first goal or something,” he said. “I’m thinking now the team, like you need to win every game now. I don’t think about, like, first goal or something. I’m happy for the team.”
Alejandro Bedoya replaced Cavan Sullivan to see out the match as Philadelphia’s final substitution.
The Union cleared away one final Atlanta United attack to secure their third consecutive victory, improving to 16 points on the season. The win lifted Philadelphia into 13th place in the Eastern Conference, just seven points behind D.C. United for the final playoff spot after D.C. United’s 2-2 draw with Nashville.
“The guys didn’t get frustrated and rush these decisions and found really good crossing situations,” Richter said about being down two goals. “And then, yeah, the two goals we scored, but there were other chances that we created leading that point. But to get the push for the third goal, and keep going, not being satisfied and happy that we came back and tied this game, that would have been a positive night. But then to continue to push and get the third goal, yeah, it was awesome.”
More importantly, though, you could sense the belief this squad now has moving forward, as expressed by both the players and coaching staff after the match. It was something that had been missing earlier this season.
“I hope at least that the guys believe in each other,” Richter mentioned. “It gives them confidence, and it shows them, you know, that this part of the game is still the most important. That fighting spirit, the never quit, the push to the last minute, and they did all those things tonight.”
“So proud of them,” he continued. “You know, we have to get a good night’s sleep and then look at the game tomorrow morning and really break it down. But just from a mentality and a team perspective, all positive.”
“I think to be honest, the mentality hasn’t changed,” Pierre said about mentality coming off a tough battle. “Just keep the keep the Philly mentality, keep pushing through, keep working harder, and we’ll get the result.”
Philadelphia will now turn their attention to Leagues Cup play as the club prepares to face Liga MX sides Cruz Azul, Necaxa, and Santos Laguna, all at Subaru Park. The Union will open the tournament against Cruz Azul on Thursday, Aug. 6, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. in Chester.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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