Photo Cred: Philadelphia Union
The Union took their three points from the Chicago match and travelled to Texas. Mike Barrera was on the call for AATSports Network, as Philly looked to earn some points against FC Dallas!
Starting XI
Union
Blake
Harriel, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner
Bedoya, Martinez, Flach, Gazdag
Carranza, Burke
FC Dallas
Paes
Twumasi, Hedges, Martinez, Farfan
Lletget, Cerrillo, Pomykal
Arriola, Velasco
Ferreira
First Half Summary
The Union made a handful of changes entering Wednesday's battle. With limited rest between the Chicago and DC match, Curtin made two changes. Uhre was benched for Cory Burke, while Harriel got the call over Mbaizo. Additionally, Jose Martinez did not start last game due to a brief absence during training for a family matter, but he was back on the pitch tonight.
Philly looked strong within the first ten minutes. They kept the ball in the Dallas half and did well to earn two corners. During one of those corner, Carranza went up strong for header and hit Paes hard. He went down grabbing his hand, which was soon wrapped up by the training staff. The Union were certainly making their presence felt early on.
Philly continued to control the match. They pressed FC Dallas into mistakes and turnovers, and besides a decent chance from Arriola, Blake was relatively untested. On the other side of the pitch, Julian Carranza was feeling confident. The former Miami forward had two strong shots at net, and he also put another tough shoulder on the opponent. Great to see that type of grit in the brutal heat.
Unfortunately, the Union's decent half would not be enough in the 34th minute. Arriola brought the ball down the right side of the field, and he crossed it to Jesus Ferreira by the center of the box. Jesus then put a nice move on Glesnes and sent an accurate shot passed Blake. Despite Philly's performance, Jakob had a handful of miscues in the first 35 minutes. Unfortunately, his inability to contain Ferreira burned Philly. The Union were the more controlling team in the first half, but FC Dallas took advantage of their best chance.
Some bad luck for Cory Burke as the first half came to a close. Cory took a hard shot to the chest, which he originally tried to shake off. After a few moments, Burke went down onto the field and kept grabbing his left side. Cory's night was called early, and Mikael Uhre was brought on just before the six minutes of stoppage time.
Second Half Summary
The Union didn't have the start they wanted in the second half. Dallas turned Philly over, and Ferreira had an excellent shot at net. Blake was forced to make a save, and thankfully his rebound wasn't sent into the net. Similar to the Chicago match, the Union started the 2nd frame dodging bullets.
Wagner did his best to get the Union on the board in the 50th minute. He received the ball in the box, and he uncharacteristically put the ball on his right foot for a shot. His strike ended up hitting Julian in the arm, but it was at least something optimistic from Philly in the attacking third.
The Dallas pressure continued. Arriola missed a point-blank header in front of Blake, and Glesnes had another miscue. His turnover led to another chance at net, but fortunately it went too far right of the post. As good as Jakob has been all year, this was one night he will likely want to forget.
Philly began to hang around the Dallas box, and Curtin decided to make a change in the 59th minute. Flach and Harriel were brought off for McGlynn and Olivier. A clear shift to an offensive attack.
McGlynn had a great chance at net in the 68th minute. Carranza and Daniel were connecting for an attack into the box, and Gazdag was brought down just outside the box. Jack's left-footed shot snuck below the Dallas wall and forced Paes to drop low for a save. As much as you love Leon Flach, McGlynn's offensive abilities are certainly making a case for him to be a consistent starter.
The next 15 minutes were fairly quiet from both clubs. Although the Union continued to make pushes at the Dallas net, Paes was left mostly unbothered. Curtin eventually made a few more changes, as Paxten and Donovan replaced Martinez and Carranza. They entered just before the 90th minute, and the head official soon called for 7 more minutes of stoppage time. It was unfortunately more of the same from Philly. They could not seem to get a clear look on net, and Philly would end up leaving the match with their second loss in three games.
Up next, the Union travel to face DC United on Saturday evening. Doop!
- Mike Barrera (mbarrera1323 on Twitter)
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