Philadelphia Union kicked off its participation in the MLS is Back Tournament with three points as they defeated New York City FC, 1-0. After the match Head Coach Jim Curtin spoke highly of his squad so here are our UNIBET Pressing Points from postgame.
#SayTheirNames
One of the biggest takeaways from the nationally broadcast match wasn’t just that the Union knocked off NYCFC but it was the actions by the team before the match even kicked off. After taking to the pitch and preparing for the standard starting XI group photo, the team stayed together and revealed that they had all changed their names on the kits to honor those killed from police brutality.
“Obviously at the start of the game there are certainly things going on in our country right now that are far bigger than soccer and I have to say I’m very proud of my players,” Curtin said. “Throughout the last four months for the leadership they’ve shown; for taking a real leadership role with the Black Lives Matter movement and for educating a lot of our other players on the team. The idea behind today was action over permission. I hope that everybody can embrace that and wrap their head around it. It was done to show respect, to learn, to grow and to make our country better. From the standpoint of that I’m really proud of our players for everything they did on the field and off the field which was more important on the day.”
The special tribute didn’t just stop on the pitch as Curtin conducted his postgame press conference with a Black Lives Matter shirt that was designed by midfielder Warren Creavalle.
“From the t-shirt that I am wearing, with the design on the back that Warren Creavalle did, to the leadership of Ray Gaddis and Mark McKenzie, the education they have done talking to our younger players. They have been at the forefront of this movement and this initiative in our league I am proud of them for that. It is a player’s choice and a coach that supports them in everything that they do. This whole idea is to educate, to learn and to certainly make changes that need to come in our country right now.”
Ilsinho makes impact in emergency start
While the Brazilian is known as one of the league’s most dangerous weapons in the second half of matches, he was needed from the opening whistle with the Union missing forwards Sergio Santos, Andrew Wooten and Michee Ngalina all to injuries.
“He filled in in an emergency role for sure,” Curtin said following the match. “Everybody knows he does his damage out wide on the right-hand side. If you do look back at the tape, a lot of our success happened on that side. Whether it was Alejandro Bedoya with the deep run or whether it was Brenden Aaronson with the deep run in behind. Part of that comes with having Ilsinho on the field.”
The squad now turns its attention to Inter Miami CF with a showdown on Tuesday, July 14th at 10:30 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast live on TUDN as well as on Twitter.
