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MLS is Back – Match REVIEW: Union Earn Win Over Inter Miami, Punch Ticket to Knockout Round

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Jul 15, 2020
In Tuesday’s 7/14 late-night kickoff, the Philadelphia Union defeated Inter Miami CF 2-1 to clinch their spot in the knockout round of the MLS is Back Tournament.

For Union fans and media members alike, it was well worth staying up late as the Boys in Blue claimed their second victory in two group stage games.

Forward Kacper Przybylko scored the game-winner in the 63′ on a perfectly executed counter-attack, and the Union held on late to secure the three points.

“I think at the end of the game, it’s huge for us,” said Homegrown midfielder Brenden Aaronson. “Like Jim said it wasn’t our best game and that was kind of frustrating in some aspects. But I think to just grind the game out, get the goal where the calls weren’t really going our way, both teams. But I think just to grind the result out and get that goal at the end really shows the confidence of our team and willing to get whatever we can to get the win. And credit to Kacper because he had a hard time finishing in the beginning, but he stuck to it and I’m super proud of him for scoring that goal.”

Lineups

PA Announcer Kevin Casey went live on Twitter to announce the lineups and create the feeling as if all Union fans were right with him, watching at Subaru Park.

Manager Jim Curtin elected to go with a similar lineup from Thursday’s matchup against NYCFC. He swapped forward Sergio Santos in for Ilsinho as he fully trained this week. Center back Jakob Glesnes earned the start over Jack Elliott, and the rest of the lineup remained the same. Union fans were feeling very confident with this starting XI and felt as if it was the strongest one of the season thus far.

Right-back Ray Gaddis notched his 200th MLS start for the Philadelphia Union and became the first player in Union history to register 200 starts.

This marked the 41st-straight start for Gaddis.

Game Action

The game kicked off and Philadelphia got on the board very early when left-back Kai Wagner scored his first-ever MLS goal in the 5′.

Wagner is now the second defender to score for Philadelphia in 2020, joining Glesnes who scored a phenomenal free-kick goal in the team’s 3-3 draw against LAFC on Mar. 8, 2020.

Gaddis sent a through ball out wide to Aaronson where he took it down the right flank, beat a defender 1v1, and passed it across the face of goal. Aaronson’s low cross was deflected by a Miami defender where it fell to Jamiro Monteiro on the edge of the box, but he smartly let it dribble out to the German.

Wagner presumably took a one-time hit and rocketed the ball into the bottom corner of the net, as Miami goalie Luis Robles’ could not get a strong enough touch to direct it wide.

In the 23′ goalkeeper Andre Blake was called to action as Miami were able to fire a shot off in the box but the Jamaican international rose to the occasion and made a diving save.

Then in the 26′, it looked as if Przybylko had doubled the Union’s lead, but the referee deemed otherwise and ruled him offsides.

Fans and media members watching the game believed that the ruling certainly should have been reviewed by VAR, including our own Gabriel Jassir. Nonetheless, the score remained 1-0 in favor of the Union.

In the midst of the possible Przybylko goal, midfielder Jose Martinez received a yellow card for dissent in the 27′. That is now his third yellow card in three MLS starts for the Union. Miami’s Rodolfo Pizarro leveled the score at 1 after a great buildup of crisp passes between midfielder Lewis Morgan and forward Matias Pellegrini, who assisted Pizarro’s tidy finish in the box.

Midfielder Wil Trapp received a yellow card in the 38′ and halftime rolled around with the score knotted at 1 and tensions beginning to flair due to physical tackles.

Then in the 63′ the Union executed a perfectly executed counter-attack which led to Przybylko’s beautiful curling goal as it gave the Union a 2-1 lead.

This went on to be the game-winning goal, as Przybylko is now tied for 7th on the Union’s all-time goals scored list with Roland Alberg at 16 goals.

The counter-attack began when Philly defended a Miami free-kick and Ilsinho sprung Aaronson out on the left-wing. Before it got to Aaronson’s feet, Monteiro played some deception and “dummied” the ball so that the breakaway could take shape. Aaronson dribbled down the wing before playing it across to Przybylko right outside the box, where Monteiro once again let the ball go by him so that the Przybylko could notch the goal.

Aaronson even received some high praise from United States Men’s National Team veteran DeMarcus Beasley when he described the 19-year old as “silkyyy.”

Aaronson registered his first assist of the season and third career assist as he provided the pass on Przybylko’s game-winner.

Defender Andres Reyes was booked for a yellow card in the 67′ for a dangerous tackle. Reyes then received his second yellow card on another dangerous tackle and was sent off with a red in the 90’+8′.

In the 75′, referee Silviu Petrescu pointed to the penalty spot for a possible handball committed by Glesnes. This time he went to VAR and reversed his initial decision, and the game remained 2-1. Safe to say that this was the right decision, as Philadelphia was hanging on by a thread.

Miami earned one last chance from a corner kick in the 83′ when Morgan crossed an in-swinging ball to the head of a leaping Roman Torres. Torres’ powerful header smashed off the crossbar and the Union saw out the game to claim a big three points as they are tied with Orlando City SC in Group A with a total of six points.

Postgame Quotes and Thoughts

“First off to Miami, I thought they made it very difficult on us the entire night,” said Curtin. “It’s a very good team that has just had a run of bad luck, whether it be with injuries, with red cards. But overall a very talented team that I really believe will move up the table as the season goes along.”

“Not our best night in terms of how we want to play, keeping the ball, playing forward, winning the transition game,” added Curtin. “In terms of the soccer, again, not our best, not our sharpest maybe it’s the late start – I’m trying to put my finger on it. But we weren’t ourselves which is disappointing, the good news is we found a way to beat a good team, even not playing our best soccer. Still a lot of things to work on and improve, obviously good to now get two wins in a row for the league and now to advance in this competition. But overall we need to be better, I need to be better as a coach, the team needs to play better because that wasn’t a good representation of what we worked on all week.”

After some nervy and shaky moments for the Boys in Blue throughout the match, they were just able to squeak out the win and advance to the Round of 16. Although it was not the prettiest soccer on display, the Union stepped up in the moments that mattered and earned a hard-fought victory when all was said and done. The team’s final match against Orlando City SC will determine the winner of Group A in the MLS is Back Tournament.

The team will now have five days of rest to recover and prepare for their final group stage game against Orlando City SC on July 20 at 8:00 p.m. ET on TUDN.
Featured Image: Philadelphia Union/Andrew Zwarych

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By Sean McMenamin
I am a junior at Temple University and I support/follow all Philadelphia sports teams especially the Philadelphia Eagles and ... More about Sean McMenamin
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