Photo: Ron Soliman
It is the end of July, so for the second year in a row, MLS takes a month-long pause in the regular season to challenge Liga MX in a midseason tournament. Because…well, because it’s MLS and wants to do soccer differently than the rest of the world does fútbol.
Today, the Philadelphia Union opened its journey in the 2024 edition of the Leagues Cup at Subaru Park in Chester, PA against fellow MLS-side Charlotte FC. Just over a month ago, Charlotte FC came into the Soob and put a 2-0 shellacking on the Union.
The Boys in Blue scored the game’s only goal as the Union won their third straight at home in all competitions. A stout defense kept a clean sheet and the Union began the tournament with three points to lead Group O.
The Leagues Cup was seen by some as an opportunity to play Union youngsters, though Coach Jim Curtin recently made clear that the Union were going to field an experienced team in an attempt to win a trophy. The line-up certainly reflected Curtin’s point of view over that of the fanbase, as Cavan Sullivan did not make the game-day squad, though Francis Westfield and C.J. Olney both did. An injured Leon Flach was also absent from the squad.
Andre Blake started in goal, while the defense was anchored by Jack Elliott and Jakob Glesnes. They were flanked by stalwart Kai Wagner on the left and Oliver Mbaizo on the right. José Martínez started in his usual defensive midfield role, while Alejandro Bedoya and Quinn Sullivan played on the left and right of the diamond respectively. Daniel Gazdag played in his usual attacking midfield role, right behind strikers Tai Baribo and new signing Samuel Adeniran.
The game started inauspiciously, as Martínez was shown a yellow card before kick-off for wearing a ring. The first twenty minutes were fairly evenly matched — the stats favoring the Union slightly — and neither goalkeeper was tested. Martínez took a knock in the 25th minute and required attention from the trainers. Jesús Bueno warmed up, but Martínez soldiered on.
The Union broke through in the 33rd minute as Mbaizo started an attack down the right with a pass to Adeniran, who fed the ball to Gazdag at the goal line. Gazdag calmly crossed it back to Baribo in front of the penalty spot, and the striker made no mistake, coolly slotting it under a stretching Kristijan Kahlina into the net. The first half ended with the Union leading in most statistical categories (including offsides) but most importantly, with a goal advantage.
The second half kicked off with the same 11 for both teams. Charlotte had the first good chance of half, as Patrick Agyemang got in on goal but his shot from the left was deflected wide by Elliott into the side netting. The Union cleared the resulting corner. A Gazdag shot in the 50th minute was deflected to Adeniran’s feet, but his shot was straight at Kahlina.
A Tyger Smalls foul in the 60th minute took Martínez off his feet and earned Smalls a yellow card. Martínez returned to his feet limping but continued onward. Shortly thereafter, Curtin went to his bench but it was to bring Mikael Uhre on for Adeniran. Charlotte Coach Dean Smith was chasing a goal and made a triple switch in the 80th minute, which Curtin countered by bringing Bueno on for Bedoya.
The 84th minute saw Kahlina make a great save on a Baribo shot that was set up by some nice footwork by Sullivan. The resulting corner saw Glesnes flick a header to the far post where Gazdag put a toe on the ball before it went into the net, but the Hungarian was in an offside position. Charlotte kept pushing for a goal, but a new-look Union held firm and did not concede a late goal this time.
Three points
To win it all or not? Curtin’s line-up showed the team’s desire to pursue hardware, rather than resting more senior players and giving some playing time to youngsters.
Center backs are back? Elliott and Glesnes played perhaps their best game of the season together, allowing Blake a relatively easy night.
Martínez dominates – A card before kickoff did nothing to slow down Martínez, nor did challenges that saw him require attention twice. He went the full ninety, plus injury time, and imposed his will on the game.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)
Andre Blake, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Olivier Mbaizo, Jose Martínez, Alejandro Bedoya (Jesus Bueno 80′), Quinn Sullivan, Daniel Gazdag, Tai Baribo, Samuel Adeniran (Mikael Uhre 67′)
Unused Subs: Andrew Rick, Oliver Semmle, Damion Lowe, Francis Westfield, Jeremy Rafanello, C.J. Olney, Jr., Chris Donovan
Charlotte FC (4-2-3-1) Kristijan Kahlina, Joao Pedro (Jere Uronen 80′), Andrew Privett, Adilson Malanda, Nathan Byrne, Ashley Westwood, Brandt Bronico, Iuri Tavares (Tyger Smalls ’56), Ben Bender (Karol Swiderski 56′), Kerwin Vargas (Brandon Cambridge 81′), Patrick Agyemang (Nikola Petkovic 81′)
Unused Subs: David Bingham, George Marks, Bill Poni Tuiloma, Jahlane Forbes, Jaylin Lindsey, Brecht Dejaeghere
Referee – Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava
Scoring summary
PHI – Tai Baribo – 33′
Discipline summary
PHI – Jose Martínez – yellow card (time-wasting) – 1′
CLT – Tyger Smalls – yellow card (foul) – 60′
PHI – Daniel Gazdag – yellow card (foul) – 68′
PHI – Alejandro Bedoya – yellow card (foul) – 75′
Author: Chris Turk A Union season ticket holder since "Day One", Chris has also been a Chelsea supporter since the early 1990's, though he counts perennial lower league side Leyton Orient his "local" team from time spent living in London's East End. Chris is an avid marathoner, and when not working as a lawyer, travels the globe in search of good food, drink, and meeting fellow soccer fans.
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