Philadelphia Union finds itself within striking range but with work to do as they fell to Club América by a 1-0 scoreline in the first leg of its Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 series.
With another lively atmosphere inside Subaru Park as the two foes met for the first time in nearly five years, the Round of 16's lone goal came from the seven-time champions as Brian Rodriguez connected with Raphael Veiga in the 20th minute for Las Águilas.
Philadelphia Union hits the road this weekend as they make the trip south to take on Atlanta United FC on Saturday, March 14th. Kick off is set for 3PM with the match broadcast on FOX and Apple TV.
How The Match Unfolded
Lineup notes
Head Coach Bradley Carnell had a robust 23-man roster to choose from on Tuesday night, but with a very congested schedule and the opponent in mind, he opted for significant squad rotation, crafting an XI made of team veterans, young talent, and brand new faces.
Homegrown Andrew Rick continued his CONCACAF Champions Cup starting streak, lining up between the posts as he did for both matches against Defence Force in Round One. He had a never-before-seen back four in front of him, with 20-year-old defender Phillipe Ndinga making his Union debut at left back just days after arriving in Philly. Nathan Harriel, sporting the captain’s armband, started opposite him on the right, while Olwethu Makhanya and Geiner Martinez were the centerback duo.
Jovan Lukic, Jesus Bueno, and Cavan Sullivan, and Iloski made up the midfield. Up top, Carnell rolled out another new attacking duo, pairing Agustin Anello and Ezekiel Alladoh.
With an away trip to Atlanta for MLS play on the horizon this weekend and Concacaf Champions Cup play four days after that, Andre Blake took the night off, joining George Marks on the bench for keeper depth. The duo sat alongside Japhet Sery Larsen, Frankie Westfield, Alejandro Bedoya, Ben Bender, Danley, Jeremy Rafanello, Indiana Vassilev, Bruno Damiani, Malik Jakupovic, and Stas Korzeniowski.
18', Yellow card | The opening 20 minutes of the match were fast-paced, physical, and defensive as both teams pushed to create chances to no avail. The first yellow of the match was shown to Geiner Martinez when he fouled
Érick Sánchez.
20', Club América goal | The free kick from Martinez's foul unfolded into the first shot and goal of the night, with Brian Rodríguez finding Raphael Veiga for a powerful shot to the top left past Rick. The Brazilian's goal sent America fans in the stands into a frenzy, further charging the already-competitive atmosphere at Subaru Park.
31', Union free kick | Philly similarly found a free kick chance in their attacking end with Milan Iloski was fouled by Rodrigo Dourado, but they were unable to create a scoring opportunity.
42' Injury sub | Club America's keeper and team captain, Luis Malagon, went down with an injury requiring the assistance of stretcher crew. With his exit from the match, Head Coach Andre Jardine sent on Rodolfo Cota to take over in net.
44', Union yellow | Another yellow was shown to Philly's defense, this time to Olwethu Makhanya on a foul on Érick Sánchez.
45'+, Added time | Six minutes of added time were tacked onto the first half, and Philadelphia Union attempted to make the most of it, nearly finding an equalizer with a strong shot from Ezekiel Alladoh blocked by Israel Reyes. The Boys in Blue found a pair of corners in that span, one from left excuted by Iloski and another from the right from Cavan Sullivan, but the opening 45' ultimately ended in favor of the visitors.
Hafltime subs | Carnell made significant changes to his lineup at halftime, sending on Bruno Damiani and Frankie Westfield to replace Ezekiel Alladoh and Cavan Sullivan at the start of the second '45.
55', Anello shot | A promising sequence up the middle gave Anello a chance to rip a shot from distance off a Jovan Lukic pass, but his attempt missed right.
60' Rick save! | Salas spun to beat Makhanya on the left sideline, finding Veiga with an open close range shot, but Rick kept it level with a big save in an important moment.
63', Union subs | Carnell sent Danley Jean Jacques for Martinez, moving Westfield to right back and Harriel to centerback. Indiana Vassilev replaced Agustin Anello, shifting the the shape to a 4-3-2-1.
70', Damiani gets in close | The change in formation put more pressure on the Liga MX side as they sought to build throug a series of combination passes that the new Union midfield sought to breakdown. It left Damiani as the longe striker with his movement into the box setting up an excellent chance for an equalizer but his shot for the upper 90 went over the bar.
82', Final Union change | As América pushed for a decisive second road goal, the Union answered with a change on the backline for their final substitution with Japhet Sery assuming a center back role and Ndinga completing his first run for the Boys in Blue.
86', Defense feeds offense | Philly turned up the defensive pressure into high and were nearly rewarded as they forced a turnover at the top of América's 18. The ball was poked to left side where Vassilev raced into the space but saw the left-footed effort go wide.
90+', Iloski blocked in the dying moments | Five minutes were added to the second half of the match with the Union building one more strong chance to level the series at 1-1 heading to Mexico. Philly saw the ball pinball near América's six yard box with the ball falling to Iloski for a shot from the penalty spot.
