The Union won without six starters, and it was away from home? What?!
Against all odds, the Union defeated the Portland Timbers at their home.
Yep, I still cannot believe what I witnessed late last night. This was a Union side that, as I mentioned above, against all odds, defeated a STRONG Portland team at their home.
What is even more impressive is just how much the Union bent but didn’t break, giving themselves a chance despite being severely short-handed.
Enough of my nonsense, let’s get to it.
Ahead of the match, on Friday afternoon, Curtin was available to the press. Here is where we found out that the Union were traveling with an extremely short roster, a total of 16 players; fourteen field players and two goalkeepers.
"We have 14 field players and two goalkeepers, so we are ready to go... Overall, the group is not the biggest in numbers, but still a really experienced group... The back four was the group that set the goals against record a couple of years ago... The schedule is the schedule; we play during international windows, whatever your opinion of that is, kind of doesn't matter because the game is coming."
One area of the field that was severely hindered by the FIFA window was that of the midfield. Dealing with Diego Chará, Evander, and Paredes was always going to be a tough task. Shorthanded, with players who have not really seen the field? Even harder.
Here is what Curtin shared on the topic when I asked him:
"That midfield match-up is certainly where we are the most thin. Even when you go back from Flach not being here, unfortunately, Bueno going away and not getting any minutes for Venezuela hurts, obviously Jose's absence, and Gazdag's absence, the numbers start to add up. I have to spin it and see the positives. We are gonna get to learn about some other guys in this instance. Rafanello is a guy who has played great for us in training now and has done some good work in the games as well. I'll just say it, he has a great opportunity tomorrow. He will be with a leader in Ale Bedoya in that middle that we are going to lean on heavily to help some inexperienced guys. Quinn is still a teenager and young, but has played in some big games for us now, so we will need him to do a good job...
That is certainly the area of the field, if you just go line by line, where we are the thinnest for sure. When you talk about a Diego Chará, we are going to need our strikers to help a little defensively with him as well because, for me, he has been the defensive midfielder... he is emblematic of what that #6 position is. Offensive side of the ball, defensive side of the ball, ball-winning, he has been incredible. I want Jose to reach that level at that point, but he is definitely the example of what running a midfield really looks like, and Chará for me does it with a smile on his face, very physical and dominant on the field and has done it for many years. First name when you think of Portland."
We all know what transpired. Rafanello played one of the best games of his career, even if the statistics did not show it. If this was not foreshadowing or a sign of what was to come from the young American, I don’t know what would be.
Here is how the two teams lined up:
Despite knowing the number of players the Union took along to the West Coast, that roster image is still extremely jarring, one or two injuries away from a complete disaster.
What was also surprising is the inclusion of Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodríguez into the squad as well as starting despite only being signed on Wednesday.
Let’s get to what happened during the match.
Early on, the Union were bending but not breaking, with Oliver Semmle keeping the team in it.
The Union were prepared for this, withstanding the pressure for minutes on end, allowing the Timbers to hold a staggering 72% possession throughout the match and complete a total of 579 passes on the night.
However, those metrics do not matter if you cannot put the ball in the net.
The Union did just that in the 28th minute through the king of mate and skirt steak, King Carranza.
But it did not end there; another goal against the run of play was scored by Sullivan. Though credit must be given to the man of the night, Jeremy Rafanello. His bold shot from distance, on a rainy night, on synthetic turf, allowed Sullivan to continue his hot start.
You thought that was the end of the Union scoring on the night? Me too. However, I was glad to be proven wrong thanks to some quick thinking by Glesnes to play the ball to Uhre, who went on to assist Carranza, completing his brace on the night.
With that goal, Carranza made a bit of history, marking his 6th multi-goal game and joining Gazdag and club legend LeToux for most in club history.
Unfortunately, I knew there was no way this game would produce a clean sheet for Semmle. Rodríguez rises and scores a nice goal on his debut. Congratulations to him.
After the match, both coaches displayed contrasting moods. When I asked Jim if last night's performance gave him confidence for the summer, considering many players will be rotating to international competitions, here is what he shared:
"It is an audition for a lot of guys. It's a test for a lot of guys. A lot of them passed tonight. The tricky part of this game is that the next test is coming and if you fail that one, it is a cruel game. We had a good win tonight, I think we learned a lot about some guys tonight."
Jeremy Rafanello had himself a night. The young player got the opportunity to feature against a strong Portland Timbers team. Curtin shared this on Jeremy when I asked him to expand on Rafanello's performance:
"He is a great kid who has worked his ass off year after year and finally got some big minutes tonight. He is one of those guys who tonight passes a big test. I hope it makes him grow in confidence and realize 'you know what, I don't want to just be a squad player, on the outskirts looking in. I want to be a player in the biggest moments...'
He did more than hold up. He made big plays for us in the attack and in the defensive part. That's what it's all about.
Really proud of Jeremy."
Meanwhile, Phil Neville was quite candid after the defeat against a depleted Philadelphia Union squad. Unsurprisingly, he was not happy with his team:
"I am probably as disappointed as I have been since I came to the club. Winning games of football in this league is really tough. If you don't take your chances and you don't do the basic job of defending set plays or dealing with balls played behind the defense, you are going to have some real problems winning games.
We played against a team that excels in keeping the game simple, doing their jobs well, and grinding out a victory. Who was the better footballing side? I thought we were by far, but it's not always about technical abilities.
It's about the mentality to win games of football. It's about doing the dirty work well. I felt that our mentality in trying to win the game was lacking."
Fortunately for the curious press, the Timber’s PR team also provided Eric Miller's perspective.
Miller, Portland's left-back for the night and a player who has been with six different teams in the league, shared his thoughts on the match and how Philadelphia approached it:
"As a group, we are incredibly disappointed. I think, in this league, there are teams like Philadelphia, they will come and play a super physical game, making it really difficult to play against. It is up to us as players to solve those problems.
We had a nice run of play during the first half, created some chances, we didn't finish, we conceded the set-piece goal. The types of goals we are conceding, we cannot concede and be a consistent winning team in this league. A lot of it comes down to cleaning up the defensive mistakes and then coming out and competing every single game."
Now, the Union turn the page and prepare, hopefully with a better semblance of a roster, to take on Minnesota in what will be the ONLY day game of the season, on Saturday, 3/30. Let’s just say that they have also had an odd start to the season, surprising EVERYONE by being at the top of the west with ten points through three wins, one draw, and no losses.
Bonus:
New Hire at the Academy
Paul Killian has joined the Union as the Head of Scouting, Academy & Professional Development. Before joining the Union, he served as an assistant coach at UCLA for nearly three years.
Additionally, he worked at the US Naval Academy for nearly five years, starting as an assistant and rising to the position of associate head men's coach for the soccer program. As a collegiate player, Killian was a goalkeeper for Stevens Institute of Technology, where he held a record of 50-8-3 with 25 shutouts.
Welcome to Philadelphia, Paul.
Olympic draw for the United States
Union fans should mark these dates and times on their calendars to support the US Olympic squad, which is likely to include two to potentially three players from the first team:
July 24 - USA vs France - 3 PM EST
July 27 - USA vs New Zealand - 1 PM EST
July 30 - USA vs Asia-Africa Playoff - 1 PM EST
Additionally, the quarterfinals are all on August 2nd, and the semifinals on August 5th. The Bronze Medal match is on August 8th, and the Gold Medal match on August 9th.
Generation Adidas Cup - Broadcast Schedule Announced
MLS just announced the preliminary streaming schedule for the Generation Adidas Cup. The tournament starts on March 30 and ends on April 7.
Cavan Sullivan and the U-17 team's game against Atlas F.C. will be aired on the Apple service on March 30. Their games against FC Cincinnati and Vancouver Whitecaps F.C. are not on the initial list.
U-15-wise, none of their games are listed as available to watch. However, should either squad make it to their respective final, the games are confirmed to be streamed.
Video Courtesy: MLS/APPLE and Philadelphia Union
"King of mate and skirt steak." Good one, Jose. And, thanks for pointing out the quick thinking of Glesnes which led to our King's second goal.