Philadelphia Union took advantage of an early red card to extend its unbeaten road form to defeat Eastern Conference rivals New England, 3-0.
With a veteran laden squad on the pitch, the Union gained a numerical advantage in the 14th minute when a Revolution defender was sent off for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. Philly grabbed the lead in the first half with homegrown Jack McGlynn connecting with Julian Carranza for the Argentine’s sixth goal in league play. The Union doubled its lead two minutes into the second half as Daniel Gazdag cashed in after Mikael Uhre saw his head crash off the post. The Hungarian collected his eighth career multi-goal game for the club in the 80th minute to complete the big win for the Boys in Blue.
Head Coach Jim Curtin’s squad made the trip to New England hungry for points after a difficult stretch at Subaru Park and the team leader sent out a veteran squad. For the team’s third contest in the past week, Curtin sent out a lineup reminiscent of the club’s 2022 MLS Cup-contending group with Leon Flach and Jose Martinez in the starting group while homegrowns Jack McGlynn and Quinn Sullivan were given rest to start after two games in quick succession. The lineup was otherwise the same as Wednesdays including rookie Oliver Semmle in between the sticks as Andre Blake still recovering from injury.
The match kicked off with New England Revolution finding a series breakaways for some movement in front of the net in their attacking half, but it was Union team captain Alejandro Bedoya who found the first shot of the game in the 11th minute. From the left side, Kai Wagner sent a ball to the top of the box, where a touch from Mikael Uhre sent it above a New England defender toward Carranza. New England’s Xavier Arreaga tapped it away, but Bedoya was vigilant and recovered the rebound, firing toward the net, but keeper Ajaz Ivacic made a diving save to stop it.
Three minutes later, New England Revolution made a game-changing mistake; in an attempt to chase a Union breakaway, defender Ryan Spaulding took down the Union’s Danish striker, committing a last man foul on Uhre that was ruled a red card by the official on the field. From that point on, the hosts played down a man, giving the Union a massive advantage early. New England’s foul trouble only worsened three minutes later, as center back Henry Kessler added to the disciplinary report with a yellow card.
After drawing the foul, Uhre was the first Union player to try and capitalize on playing up a man, with a powerful shot in the 25th minute but it went above the net and into the stands.
Philly lineup lineup was shaken up earlier than expected – Jose Martinez was taken off the field in the 30th minute, spurring Jack McGlynn to sub on off the bench to replace the Venezuelan. After the change up, Semmle was called upon to keep the visitors within striking range, with a big stop on the 35th minute.
Moments later Carranza found the first of two big chances – Bedoya sent a pass into the box toward Harriel, but it was stopped by Kessler. The 23-year-old Argentine intercepted the defender's attempt to clear the ball and took a boot toward the net, but it sailed just above and into the stands. His aggressive attack paid off minutes later, when he headed a perfect pass from Jack McGlynn to the back of the net, putting the Union up by one before the end of the second half.
The Revolution sought to steal an equalizer in first half stoppage time but again Semmle was strong on his feet. With seconds left in the eight added minutes, the German keeper denied attacker Dylan Borrero at the near post with a remarkable save from the boots.
Philly didn’t sit back after intermission and extended their lead two minutes into the half courtesy of a patient finish from all-time leading scorer Daniel Gazdag. Homegrown duo Nathan Harriel and Jack McGlynn combined on the right side of the attack with a nifty passing combination that provided the Union right back space to deliver a cross into the box. Mikael Uhre timed his run perfectly to the near post and redirected the volley off the post that fortunately bounced right into the path of the Hungarian at the back post. Taking a soft touch to compose himself, the midfielder slotted it through a trio of New England players to double Philly’s lead.
With the score, Philadelphia Union made history. Carranza and Gazdag have scored in the same match for the 16th time in MLS regular season-play, which is the most by a pair of teammates in league history.
Jakob Glesnes was the catalyst of a promising run in the 62nd minute, stopping New England build up on their attacking end and dribbling out of their territory and toward his strikers. He found Uhre with a pass upfield that gave the Dane room to drive toward the net. Instead of taking the shot, he opted for a cross across the box to Carranza but it was off-timed, just barely missing the Argentine’s descent.
With a two-goal lead in hand and a busy week of play on his team’s legs, Curtin made a pair of subs in the 67th minute, opting to utilize Olivier Mbaizo and Quinn Sullivan in place of Harriel and Uhre.
The lead became three in the 80th minute, with Gazdag bagging a brace off another rebound finish in front of the net. This time, it was Sullivan who took the first shot, receiving a quick pass from Gazdag that bounced off of Ivacic’s gloves and into the path of Gazdag, who settled then powered it for his second goal of the night.
With the win well within reach, Curtin gave the night’s goalscorers an opportunity to soak in the applause from the traveling fans late in the match as the duo of Carranza and Gazdag exited for Tai Baribo and Jeremy Rafanello.
Philadelphia Union concludes its May road schedule next weekend as they make the trip south to take on Charlotte FC. Kick off is set for 7:30PM ET with coverage on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
