Philadelphia Union begins its three-game road trip for October with an inaugural visit to TQL Stadium and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, October 9. Kick off from the Queen City is set for 8 p.m. ET with coverage on PHL17 and PhiladelphiaUnion.com beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia Union opens the road swing riding a four-game unbeaten streak with the latest coming in a 3-0 rout of defending MLS Cup Champions, Columbus Crew. The win was the result of a total team effort with Jack Elliott, Alejandro Bedoya and Leon Flach notching goals. Goalkeeper Andre Blake was strong in the win as well, keeping the Union’s two-goal lead with a critical penalty kick save in the second half to rack up his 10th clean sheet of the season.
Saturday’s match will be the first time the two sides have met up in 2021 and will see the Union missing several key pieces due to FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as well as Kai Wagner’s suspension for his red card against the Crew. It won’t be the first time the Union have been missing a large amount of players this season, with a homegrown led side taking the pitch during the September international window.
The Boys in Blue and FC Cincinnati have faced off each of the past two seasons with the Union unbeaten against MLS newcomers. Only once in the previous four matches have the Union not claimed all three points against the Ohio side but all four matches have seen Philly pick up a clean sheet.
FC Cincinnati finds itself at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table with a 4-15-8 record this season. The third-year squad has been quite unlucky with eight of their 15 losses coming by a one-goal margin. Cincinnati has undergone changes in leadership over the past few weeks with Tyrone Marshall being named interim manager while Chris Albright took over the reigns as general manager this week. Despite the results, FC Cincinnati has dangerous player makers to watch out for with Brenner leading the way with seven goals while Luciano Acosta had added six goals and a team-high nine assists.
