Under the Tuesday night lights, Jim Curtin rolled out a 4-3-2-1 shape for the first time in 2023. Jack McGlynn partnered Ale Bedoya and Jose Martinez in midfield behind Joaquin Torres and Daniel Gazdag. Julian Carranza led the line alone with a back line of Olivier Mbaizo, Jakob Glesnes, Damion Lowe, and Nathan Harriel lining up in front of Andre Blake.
The Union leaned to the right early as Ale Bedoya and Olivier Mbaizo doubled up on the flank looking for overloads. Atlas FC attacked through the center and nearly got in behind after Gazdag turned the ball over in midfield. Harriel and Lowe converged to snuff out the danger at the top of the box and Philly was soon going the other way.
A sumptuous touch from Torres freed Carranza to run up the right and thread Bedoya toward the endline, The captain’s cutback nearly found Gazdag in the box.
In the 10th minute, Quinones had his first look of the match from 22 yards out. Without pressure on him, the big striker wound up for a bazooka blast but barely troubled Andre Blake, who slid to his right and pushed away the effort. The Union went the other way and McGlynn eyed a throughball to Carranza but the striker strayed just beyond the back four.
Philly was playing with a confidence that hasn’t been the norm over the previous month, and twice Gazdag was pulled around the box with no call forthcoming. The dynamic midfielder was popping up between the lines as Atlas struggled to track his movements.
In the 16th minute, the Union again overloaded the right and a deflected Torres pass found Gazdag near the top of the box. With no window to find Carranza, the Hungarian nearly found him anyways, slipping a waist-high pass through the defense to the back post where the striker slid in a moment too late.
Atlas grew in confidence as they sought out Quinones isolated against Glesnes. In the 25th minute, Quinones sprinted behind the back line and was in alone. Lowe hit the afterburners and Blake closed the angle and the striker had nowhere to go. But after Blake make the initial stop, Lowe plowed through him and the ball popped free. Quinones recovered it and Cruyff-turned away from the goalkeeper, firing on an open net. Somehow, Lowe was in perfect position to clear the shot off the line and Mbaizo relieved pressure.
As the half-hour mark rolled past, Harriel was released up the left on a superb run. He ducked inside of his man in the box and was hit with a loose thigh from behind. Said Martinez waved away calls for a penalty.
Atlas responded with a run up the right and a shot that forced Blake to stretch to his right, but the offside flag came up after the save.
In the 45th minute, Jonathan Herrera snuck behind the back line but his first time shot picked out of the air by an untroubled Blake.
The Union sprinted the other way and Carranza rounded his man inside the box, going down under a forearm shiver from behind.
In added time, Daniel Gazdag broke in on goal after Anderson Santamaria whiffed and the ball rolled free. Santamaria drove through Gazdag from behind at the top of the box, earning a red card and gifting the Union a free kick. McGlynn faked a shot then Gazdag rolled a hard side-footer just outside the far post.
Atlas came out in a 5-3-1 in the second half, expecting the Union to pile on the pressure. Philly’s first chance came up the right as Mbaizo darted behind the back line and fired into Camilo Vargas’ feet. The offside flag went up moments later, negating the opportunity.
The Union were more deliberate finding McGlynn’s feet in buildup play and Carranza’s runs along the back line created issues when Atlas’ wingbacks stepped forward. But the big chances remained hard to find, and Jim Curtin turned to a 4-4-2 diamond in the 60th minute when Mikael Uhre came on for Torres.
McGlynn continued exploring the space behind the back four and after his first ball was knocked down, Carranza almost turned it on net but his foot was kicked as he approached the ball. Gazdag continued the attack, spinning away from two defenders and propelling a low dribbler at Vargas.
Atlas had little interest in attacking but Herrera and Quinones came to life in the rare moments that the ball entered the Union’s final third. Three Union players converged to dispossess Herrera in the box, and on the next throw in, Jose Abella received a caution after taking a contemplative amount of time to resume play.
Uhre announced himself with a laser off the post in the 67th minute, and play didn’t resume for nearly a minute after the ball went out for a goal kick.
Glesnes began striding forward and after he fed Gazdag 40 yards out in the 69th minute, he eyed up a free kick following a foul on the Hungarian.
The shot deflected off the wall and spun to Vargas’ right, but he recovered and dove to cover. Next, McGlynn fired a low driven ball into the box that hit a defender and again forced Vargas to dive and save.
Quinn Sullivan came on in place of Mbaizo as the Union moved to a 4-3-3 that pushed Carranza to the left and Bedoya into the back line. McGlynn continued to be the key man in attack and rounded two men at the top of the box before ripping a shot that Vargas pushed over.
In the 78th minute, Bedoya and McGlynn combined to find Carranza in the box, a shift of the hips freed the Argentine for a shot but the defense recovered to block it out of play.
In the 87th minute, Martinez floated a gorgeous ball into the box and Carranza beat Vargas to it. The goalkeeper shouldered the striker to the ground and was called for a penalty. Atlas’ squad attempted to unnerve Gazdag as he prepared for the spot kick and Brian Lozano was assessed a yellow card.
The visitors should have known better.
Gazdag coolly stuffed the shot under Vargas for the 1-0 lead.
Philly continued to press for another as Martinez out-muscled Quinones in the center and Sullivan followed up with a low drive on net.
The Union now take a one-goal cushion to Guadalajara on April 12 for an immense second leg of the 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal round.
Before that, the club travels to Cincinnati to face former Union assistant Pat Noonan and a strong FC Cincinnati side.
