Union’s Dream Season Ends In Heartbreak After Brutal 1-0 Loss To NYCFC
The Union’s Mikael Uhre (left) is consoled by teammate Jakob Glesnes after losing to New York City FC during conference semifinal of the MLS playoffs at Subaru Park on Sunday. Steven M. Falk / The Philadelphia Inquirer
All week, it felt like Subaru Park was set up for a big one for the Supporters Shield winners at home. NYCFC was coming in short on firepower from injuries and suspensions. The Union came in healthy and well rested. The weather was decent enough, and there was a pregame buzz where everyone figured this would be the night the Union reminded the league why they sat at the top of the table this season. Even warmups had that edge to them, and the crowd settled in expecting a long night for New York.
Honestly, the matchup looked good for Philly, especially with NYCFC missing Alonso Martinez should have made game planning a little easier. The Union knew they could get at their back line, so the plan was simple —press, win second balls, get the strikers into pockets, and feed off the crowd. For the first fifteen minutes, it even felt like the script was forming the way everyone pictured it.
At about that 15-minute mark, Nicolas Fernandez took a shot, and it hit the post. From that point on, City shifted into another gear and started to play faster, which caused the Union to play more on their heels, and it slowed the pace, which tilted the pitch in favor of City. They truly got out of themselves at the start of the game. City controlled the pace for the majority of the half after that. At the 27th minute, Maxi Moralez took a bad possession by Jakob Glesnes, which was uncharacteristically misplayed, and passed to Fernandez, who held possession long enough for Moralez to streak in and finish off one of the best goals scored of the playoffs. It was a true team goal, and one that Glesnes could have prevented.
The second half started a little more like Union soccer; however, they still let City dominate the pace largely in the midfield circle, where the Union dominate when they are on their game, but tonight City dominated the midfield circle and limited the Union’s chances to counterstrike. The first time there was a serious swing, the Union pressed Matt Freese, but the Union overcommitted up, even Andre Blake was too close to the midfield circle and Nicolas Fernandez noticed this and took a deep shot which was online, requiring Blake to sprint back and he barely beat the ball and got a hand on the ball at the absolute last second saving a goal, but pulling a hamstring and costing him the chance to finish the match. Bringing in 19-year-old Andrew Rick to finish the match.
City tried to get shots at him, but Rick stood strong and played well. As the second half ticked on, the Union played better and better, but they still couldn’t get to second balls, which is the bread and butter of the Union attack. They had so many second chances, but Freese played lights out. Second balls, midfield domination, and counter are what the Union need to win, and NYCFC dominated all three critical aspects of the game, a game which concluded in a 1-0 score, ending what has been an incredible season for the Philadelphia Union.
Controlled chaos is what the Union thrive on, and that was never able to come to fruition because that requires the Union to control the pace and take ownership of the midfield, which is the foundation of their attack all season. Tonight, NYCFC kept them in check and limited the chaos that they could cause because they were too busy chasing and not enough time moving the ball into favorable positions. The midfielders didn’t do enough to redirect the ball back into the City zone, which is a huge reason the Union’s season ends tonight.
An interesting thing to think about and something that hurts a little more, in 30 seasons of MLS action, only 8 Supporters Shield winners have gone on to win the MLS Cup. There is a whole offseason to dissect what went wrong tonight, but for now, it’s time to bid farewell to this incredible season and keep the good memories and forget the last 96 minutes of action. I know Bradley Carnell won’t forget this match, and he has the task of resetting for next season. As much as this hurts, we were treated to some incredible soccer, and Carnell and all of the players have shown us that they deserve a little faith. I hate to close on a cliche, but wait ’til next year.
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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