Union’s Statement Series Win in Chicago Sends Warning to the Rest of the MLS
(Philadelphia Union/X)
The Philadelphia Union were actually underdogs coming into tonight’s match against the Chicago Fire at SeatGeek Stadium, but that definitely didn’t last long. The Fire knew that to have any chance of winning the game, they had to strike first and not just add one, but multiple goals to hold off the Supporters Shield winners in this close-out game to save their season.
On Thursday, Gregg Berhalter got dealt a huge blow; his 21-year-old starting goaltender, Chris Brady, was not going to be available for tonight’s match, so he had to start Chicago native Jeffrey Gal in his place. Though Bradley Carnell stated at halftime in this match that he didn’t change the strategy with Brady out of the game, the Union came out with strong pressure in the midfield and an aggressive counterattack, which hasn’t been the way the Union have come out often this season.
Tai Baribo was the beneficiary of the strategy change, as the pressure that the Union put on Gal frazzled him in the first half, as he was beaten for the first goal off the foot of Baribo.
The wheels seemed to come off the bus for Gal after this. He was caught out of position when Kai Wagner put a long centering pass on goal, and somehow the entirety of the Fire defense lost track of Baribo, and he headed the ball into the goal. The look on Gal’s face after showed that he knew that he didn’t account for Baribo and was caught out of position. That goal was a huge moment for the Union, not only to take a two-nil lead, but it also quieted the rowdy Fire supporters.
Shortly after the second Baribo goal, Chicago got a penalty kick, off of a badly played foul in front of keeper Andre Blake, and Brian Gutierrez took the PK, but he shot right into the dive of Blake, continuing Blake’s dominance of the Fire in this series on PKs. While the shot wasn’t Gutierrez’s best shot, it shows that Blake did his homework and studied the Fire’s tendencies and was able to execute.
The third goal was just a horribly played clearing pass by Gal. When Milan Iloski pressed in on Gal before a clear, it looked as if Gal hesitated and had a momentary lapse in spacial awareness, and instead of clearing the ball to the right where he had defensive help, he tried to counter the pressure of the charging Iloski and the carom went right to the middle and Bruno Damiani cleaned up the loose ball and deposited it in the back of the net.
All of this happened within the first 17 minutes of the game. To Gal’s credit, he tightened up after this and was in position from here on out in the match, but those 2 mental lapses truly cost the Fire any chance of gaining momentum in the game. Gutierrez did put one in the back of the net, but it was determined that it was a handball, as it went off his elbow, maintaining the shutout for Blake and the Union. The Fire vastly dominated in time of possession, but they were constantly trying to get around the Philly defense, which proved to be too much for them.
This was a frustrating game for everyone in and Fire uniform and for the crowd in Bridgeview, IL. As time wound down, there were two sizable stoppages, as well as multiple scoreboard pleas for the fans to refrain from abusive and inflammatory language. There were around 6 minutes of total stoppage in the final 20 minutes for the referees and Fire players to plead with the fans to stop the reprehensible chants. I know that it is not acceptable to fans to say such things, but that just underscores how plainly dominant the Union were tonight. They transformed the Chicago supporters from rabid and loud at kickoff, silenced them for the majority of the game, and frustrated them so much that they lost their cool in the stands. At least it was only words.
As for the Union, this was their only road game in the playoffs. They will host every playoff game until hopefully December at Subaru Park. This win shows just how important having a coach who is not fixed to what worked in the past, but someone who will change things up as needed. It’s also impressive how the team with the third-lowest payroll in the MLS continued its dominance over the top competition in the MLS so far this season. They will come home tonight, and there will be a long wait until they face the winner of the Charlotte/New York series. My hope is that coach Carnell schedules at least one friendly over the nearly 3-week layoff. With a young team like the Union, keeping the edge sharp will be important to them moving forward as they look to shock the world and take home the MLS Cup.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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