Philadelphia Union saw its final slate of matches before Leagues Cup begin with a road setback as they fell to Toronto FC on Saturday night.
Forward Tai Baribo put the Boys in Blue ahead in the first half with a smashing header off a Kai Wagner free kick to produce the Israeli striker’s third goal of the season. The Union lead would last until the 74th minute when substitute Deandre Kerr and Jack Elliott battled for a sliding finish that went in off the Union defender. Four minutes later, Kerr would get officially on the board with the game winner to spoil Philly’s road trip north of the border.
For the second straight match Head Coach Jim Curtin’s starting lineup featured a back three consisting of centerbacks Damion Lowe, Jakob Glesnes, and Jack Elliott all lined up in front of 18-year-old Homegrown Andrew Rick in net. Kai Wagner manned his typical position on the left side, this time opposite Olivier Mbaizo who took over the starting right back spot in Homegrown Nate Harriel’s Olympic absence. Without Jack McGlynn, who also made the trip to France, the midfield featured Leon Flach, Jesus Bueno, and Daniel Gazdag, while strikers Baribo and Mikael Uhre were paired up top. The match marked Uhre’s first since June 6th against the team’s 2-0 loss against Charlotte FC – he’d been out with an injury.
Head Coach John Herdman fielded a squad still missing captain Jonathan Osorio, as well as Richie Laryea who have yet to return after a competitive Copa America campaign with the Canadian National Team.
It was an unproductive opening ten minutes on both ends – only the hosts got a shot off in that span when attacker Prince Osei Owusu hit the post in the third minute.
Philadelphia Union found the next one in the 12th minute; Bueno sent a pass up the middle to Uhre, who threaded right to Gazdag, speeding in front of him for a run into the box. The Hungarian No. 10 had to sprint to recover the pass, and when he did, he spotted Baribo for an acrobatic shot that was near-identical to the first of his two goals in the team’s 4-3 loss to Cincinnati less than a month prior.
The game’s momentum ramped up from there; responding to stadium-shaking chants from Toronto fans, Federico Bernadeschi took the ball up the center of the field with speed, weaving through Union defenders to find himself in front of the net for a powerful boot from distance. Luckily for Rick, the shot was just off target, sailing into the host’s black and red supporters section.
Toronto FC maintained possession for the majority of the opening 25 minutes, despite attempting to find a hole in the opposing defense. After a atypical line drive shot from Damion Lowe, the Union nearly peeled through the opponent’s defense with a pinpoint cross from Mbaizo by way of a Gazdag up the left. The Cameroonian defender found Bueno across the box on the left, waiting in a scoring position, but the young Venezuelans shot went just off, landing shy of the right post.
Philadelphia had another near chance in quick succession – this time starring the newly-returned Danish striker. He pushed toward the net in full sprint to beat defender Sigurd Rosted, breaking away to collect a sailing pass up the middle from his teammate. When Rosted caught up, Uhre released the ball, shooting it left instead of passing right toward Baribo, descending beside him. The shot landed in Sean Johnson’s path, keeping the score locked at 0-0.
In the 38th minute, Gzdag was taken down on the left side on the left side of the field, giving Philadelphia a game-changing free kick that turned the tide in their favor. As usual, Wagner took over, whipping the ball into the box perfectly to find Baribo hopping up for a header past Johsnon to the back of the net.
Baribo celebrated his third-ever MLS goal with pride, embracing his teammates after claiming a much-needed lead for his team.
A close call from Toronto in the 45th minute saw Bernadeschi place a pass to Owusu for a header chance from close range, but a joint effort from Elliott and Rick stopped it, contributing to their team’s first half performance that left them with a lead upon entering the locker room for halftime.
Toronto FC made two changes at halftime, taking off Raoul Pretretta for Lorenzo Insigne and Shane O’Neill for Nicksoen Gomis, while Head Coach Jim Curtin stuck with the same group.
His team continued their push for three points – Mbaizo serviced another beautiful ball in the 52nd minute finding Baribo for close chance in front of the net that went off target. In the same minute, Owusu followed suit with an off target shot of his own, looking to eliminate Philadelphia’s lead with no luck.
In the 57th, a near-golazo volley from Insigne added energy to the Toronto side – but Curtin answered with a pair of subs, trading Bueno and Uhre for team captain Alejandro Bedoya and Homegrown Quinn Sullivan in the 61st. Within minutes of stepping onto the pitch, Sullivan made a drive toward the net and stayed in bounds to test Johnson with a cross that he former NYCFC keeper pushed aside.
Just past the hour mark Herdman followed suit with more changes as he added Deybi Flores and Deandre Kerr to the mix. The change would yield major results with a new Toronto FC front man in Kerr. The Canadian side delivered the equalizer in the 74th minute with a patient build up being unlocked with a world class pass from Bernadeschi to spray a pass to the left side. Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty gave every inch of his body on the line to redirect the cross and he laid out for a diving header that connect with Kerr for the sliding finish. Four minutes later Kerr was again the thorn in the Union defense as Flores intercepted a pass and got the ball to the feet of Insigne. Seeing the Union defense were out of position, the Italian threaded the needle to put Kerr into space for a one time finish that he buried for the four-minute brace.
Chasing a goal, Chris Donovan was brought on for the Boys in Blue to help add to the attack in place of Elliott. Philly pushed everything forward to find a goal but Quinn Sullivan and Donovan saw their efforts come up just off the mark.
Philadelphia Union returns to Subaru Park next week looking to for a pair of strong results prior to the start of the Leagues Cup break. The Boys in Blue kick off their two-game homestand against the New England Revolution on Wednesday. Kick off is set for 7:30PM ET.
