Coming off of a disheartening loss to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions League, the Philadelphia Union needed to get a win. On Saturday night, they faced off against the last place New York Red Bull. Philadelphia made 3 changes to the starting lineup: Quinn Sullivan in for Mikael Uhre, Damion Lowe in for Jack Elliot, and Nate Harriel in for Olivier Mbaizo. It was a matchup that the Union needed, as they haven’t lost to Red Bull in their last 9 matches against them. It was also the first time Philadelphia was seeing Corey Burke, who left Philadelphia to join New York in the off-season. The Philadelphia Union secure much needed win in New York.
To the Action
The first half saw Philadelphia having the aggression and pace they did in their previous league match against Toronto. Keeping the play in front of them and conceding very little in terms of attack from New York. A foul in the 28th minute gave Philadelphia a penalty kick opportunity after VAR confirmed the call. Daniel Gazdag buried the penalty to provide the Union with the 1-0 lead. With the lead established, Philadelphia kept the pressure up and closed out the first half strong. With the one-goal lead, they only need to play 45 more minutes the same way to secure a much-needed three points.
The Union made no subs at the start of the second half. Philadelphia would continue to keep the pressure on the New York attack. New York would take a lot of shots in the second half. Nothing that would come anywhere near goalie Andre Blake. Philadelphia maintained form and held tight against a New York side that has scored four times in the final five minutes of their matches this season. Philadelphia made some good runs in an attempt to expand on their lead but was more focused on eating clock to force New York into mistakes. The final whistle blew and Philadelphia got the win with a final score of 1-0.
Union Secure Much Needed Win
It was a much-needed win for Philadelphia, who jumped up to 7th place in the Eastern Conference. The Union played the way they are known to play with this win. They were aggressive and kept the pressure on a struggling New York side. This was the first of a three-total game road trip for Philadelphia. They now will head out to Minnesota for a US Open Cup round of 32 matches against Minnesota United FC. A follow-up with a league match in Colorado against the Rapids on May 13th. They come back home on May 17th to host DC United.
Austin is the host of The Attacking Third (Tuesday nights at 9 pm). His passion for soccer started in the early 2000s because of his brother and father’s influence. He is a dedicated fan of all Philly sports and also is a fan of gaming.
