Union blow late 3-1 lead, fall to Chicago Fire for 5th straight loss
Courtesy of Philadelphia Union
On the day before America celebrated its independence, the Chicago Fire and Philadelphia Union took to the Soldier Field pitch to engage in a battle of two teams searching for independence from the loss column. Chicago (15th in the East, 18 pts) took their home pitch having lost two straight while the Union, (12th in East, 20 pts) remained on the road, losers of four straight. In a shocking turn of events, Chicago struck for three goals after the 80th minute to snatch a 4-3 win, leaving the Union in disbelief.
The Union welcomed the return of goalkeeper Oliver Semmle and Daniel Gazdag, back from Euros 2024, to the starting lineup for Wednesday’s contest against Chicago, their only two changes. Gazdag was badly needed with the transfer of Julian Carranza becoming official the other day and the Union once again came out with energy.
In what was maybe a bit of foreshadowing, the Union’s first partial chance fell to Quinn Sullivan in the 5th minute but was driven over the bar, the degree of difficulty high on the strike. In the 21st minute, Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady got out to palm away a low cross from the right wing before the ball could be tucked in from the near post. Besides that, there were not many clear-cut chances until, against the run of play, Chicago struck first in the 30th minute.
Chicago was able to gain possession in their defensive half and burst right down the center of a wide-open midfield, Fabian Herbers doing the honors. He played the ball out to the right wing and Allan Arigoni‘s cross got caught in tangled feet at Semmle’s near post, to the best of my view Jack Elliotts. When the ball popped free, Maren Haile-Selassie was waiting to chip it home with his right foot, giving him a goal in four straight games.
To the Union’s credit, they answered inside of ten minutes, though Semmle had to come out and claim a near chance for Selassie just a minute or two after his goal before they answered.
Jim Curtin‘s team was on the offensive, probing the Fire defense to no avail before the ball was worked to Harriel in the middle and then played out to Leon Flach on the left. Roughly twenty-five yards out, Flach stepped into his left-footed blast but pulled it slightly across his body. Chris Donovan was cutting across the area and opened up his right hip, deflecting the strike into the corner with his right shin from about twelve yards out. It was Donovan’s first goal of the year.
Philadelphia was able to find their second goal just before the half, this goal coming about as a result of some strange circumstances. Jakob Glesnes played a ball over the top down the right side for Nathan Harriel. Chris Brady came out and claimed the ball right at the edge of the box. As he did, his momentum started to carry him outside the box and he dropped the ball so as to not play it illegally. Harriel turned to claim the ball and be in on goal, forcing Brady to wrap him in a bear hug and Abdou Ndiaye to award a penalty, confirmed after a brief VAR. Daniel Gazdag stepped up to the spot and wrote himself in as the man with the most MLS goals in Philadelphia Union club history, Brady going the wrong way.
Under five minutes into the second half, Jack McGlynn struck with his vaunted left foot. A good press won the ball and Gazdag played McGlynn ahead in the middle of the pitch. When nobody closed him out at the top of the 18-yard box, McGlynn worked the ball to his left foot and shaped a beautiful strike around a diving Brady, the ball hitting the inside of the post and bouncing across off the other post before going in. Surely that was the game and three points against the bottom team in the Eastern Conference.
Then came the unthinkable.
In the 82nd minute, Haile-Selassie ran down an over-the-top ball on the left side and won his team a corner kick when his cross was blocked behind by Glesnes. Off a short corner, Selassie was able to walk to the top corner of the box and cross to the back post. The ball was headed back into the center of goal where Hugo Cuypers was able to rise up and nod the ball home to his left.
How does the saying go? “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”. Well, the Union were fooled for the second time in the 89th minute. Chicago once again played a short corner kick and worked the ball to the top of the box. An unpressured cross was able to be floated toward the back post in the box. The ball was nodded high into the air and as it came down, Gaston Gimenez‘s left foot was there to greet it unceremoniously. On what looked like a half volley, Gimenez slammed it off the ground bouncing once as it went by a frozen Glesnes and Semmle. The frustration was evident, Jesus Bueno having an animated, and one-sided, conversation with a disbelieving Semmle.
All it took was one minute and eight seconds from when the ball was put back into play until Chicago had the lead for good. This time the ball was switched, right to left, from about 30 yards out. At about twelve yards out, Selassie’s first touch popped the ball back across goal where Cuypers was able to cushion it through the five-hole of Semmle from four yards away just inside the right post.
Remember when I said the early strike from Quinn Sullivan that went over the bar might have been foreshadowing? The referee awarded the Union a free kick from 25 yards out to Brady’s left at 90+7. When Brady made sure it was going over the bar, the referee awarded the corner and Chicago players were livid. When Jakob Glesnes’ header went over the bar at 90+9.5, the final whistle sounded.
Things come in threes they say. Tonight they did for the Philadelphia Union, unfortunately. Three goals were scored. Three unanswered conceded. Three points were squandered. For the fifth straight time this season, and the first time ever in club history, the Union walked off the field with a loss.
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