Jose Martinez picked the perfect time for his first MLS goal as Philadelphia Union rallied back from a two-goal deficit to claim a 2-2 road draw at Orlando City SC on Wednesday night.
Trailing by two goals in the second half, the Union midfield produced a pair of goals that started with homegrown Jack McGlynn cutting the deficit in half with a lovely volley that caught the keeper off guard. The game-tying goal came from El Brujo as he ripped a long-range Brujo blast from way outside the box that beat the keeper in the 90th minute to send the Boys in Blue back home with an important road point.
With the contest falling during international competitions, the Union found themselves down a trio of starters with Daniel Gazdag, Andre Blake and Damion Lowe representing their homelands. Philly returned to the 4-4-2 diamond formation as a result, putting Joe Bendik in net and Joaquin Torres in at attacking midfielder.
After falling behind early the last time these two squared off, the Union sought to bring the offense early for some early chances. Philly played through its pair of forwards with Julian Carranza attempting a pair of through passes into the box for Mikael Uhre that were sniffed out just before the forward would fire off an attempt. Moments later the Union launched a counter after Carranza tracked back to poke the ball free. Leon Flach took possession and raced forward toward the midfield stripe where he shot a pass to the feet to get the ball to the feet of Uhre. With the center backs collapsing on the Danish forward, he sent a pass to his right to an unmarked Joaquin Torres who took a quick shot with his left that went right to the keeper.
Despite the early chances, it was the purple and gold taking the early lead with a fortuitous finish from Duncan McGuire in the 13th minute. Building down the middle of the park, a centering pass toward MartÃn Ojeda drew the Union’s center back duo apart. The Orlando midfielder pushed the pass forward to Robinson where Jakob Glesnes attempted a slide tackle but the touch allowed the forward to maintain possession. One-on-one against the Union keeper, Orlando’s main striker grabbed his team-leading sixth goal of the year to make it 1-0 for the home side.
Full of confidence with the opening goal, the hosts tried to double their lead shortly after they bagged the first, but were denied by a fully stretched play from goalkeeper Joe Bendik. Orlando City went defense to offense in a dash as a turnover near center circle provided an opportunity to counter with the ball at the feet of Mauricio Pereyra. Seeing the 3v2 situation, he hit a hard pass to the edge of the box for Felipe Martins to send him into the box. With a runner at the back post and potentially unmarked, Martins ripped a cross just over the ground that the veteran snatched to prevent a tap in or a rebound.
The Boys in Blue continued to push for an equalizer and nearly grabbed it with a second chance off a corner kick from Kai Wagner. Orlando City couldn’t fully clear the play as the Union gained it back and shot a pass up the left side to Flach. With a stop and go move, the midfielder created space on the flank and ripped a volley into the box where Jack Elliott smashed a header that went just over the crossbar.
Bendik was tested again in the first half with a key reaction save at the half hour mark. Off an Orlando corner kick from Martin Ojeda, defender Antonio Carlos rose up into the air and smashed a header on frame but was denied by a tip punch from Bendik to send the shot over the crossbar.
The Boys in Blue came out of the locker room hungry for a goal and nearly got it three minutes into the final frame. As they built from the back, Glesnes saw the high line from Orlando and went direct with a pass over the top that connected with Uhre. With the keeper racing off his line, Uhre chested the ball forward and into the path of Mason Stajduhar who tapped it wide just before the Union attacker could get a touch. Torres regained possession near the endline after he blocked a half clearance and sought an assist but again, it found its way to the keeper.
Uhre continued to utilize his pace out wide and nearly set up the tying goal in the 50th minute. The Union attacker took a pass from Flach and went into the open space on the left flank. Seeing offensive runs from Torres and Carranza, he ripped a low cross into the box that snuck through to the Union’s leading goalscorer wide open on the right side. Taking a quick touch, Carranza unleashed a blast with his left foot that was denied with a reaction stop by the keeper.
With the lifeline and the lead, Orlando City SC doubled their advantage two minutes after the save with a goal from Ojeda to make it 2-0. Much like a play you’d see in the NHL, the Lions took advantage on the counter and used a screen from McGuire to block the Union keeper with the ball sneaking through the defense and Orlando forward for the two-goal advantage.
Philly fought back however with some magic of their own as homegrown Jack McGlynn and his left-foot made it 2-1 at the hour mark. With possession outside the box and on the right side of the attack, the 19-year-old looked up and attempted a cross for Uhre to flick a header on. The hosts were expected the flick too as it sailed over the forward and had the keeper stuck on his feet for the cross turned shot and ultimately a Union goal.
In the 65th minute midfielder Alejandro Bedoya returned to the pitch for the first time since May 17th as the captain replaced Torres. The change saw McGlynn promoted to the attacking midfield spot for a handful of minutes.
Orlando City was presented with the opportunity to put the match away in the 73rd minute as they stretched the defense out wide and got into the box. A pair of chances went for the Lions with a centering pass to McGuire blocked by Glesnes that pulled Bendik off his line and hugging the post. With net essentially open, McGuire ripped a pass to Ivan Angulo who skied the shot into the stands.
Following the chance the Union made two more offensively-minded substitutions as homegrowns Quinn Sullivan and Nathan Harriel came on for Flach and Mbaizo. Again McGlynn was the man on the move with his third different spot in the Union diamond as his US U-20 teammate took the No. 10 slot.
Sullivan was eager to create taking an odd man rush in the 83rd minute on his own that resulted in a right-footed shot from the edge of the box crashing off a defender but just slow enough for the keeper to correct and snatch it out of the air. On the next Union possession, Glesnes was given the green light to unleash a rocket shot that had everyone on the edge of their seats but soared just wide of the Orlando City goal.
In the 87th the hosts bagged an insurance goal on the counter attack with a tap in from Angulo after the long run was made by substitute Ercan Kara. Immediately the Union defense went to the referee and seconds later as the celebrations continued the Video Assistant Referee summoned the head official for a check. A quick check easily confirmed that Kara had fouled Jose Martinez to start the attack and the goal was taken off the board and a yellow card shown.
Brujo wasn’t done making an impact on the match as he delivered the game-tying goal in the 90th minute in true Martinez fashion. Grabbing possession well outside the box after half clearance from Orlando, the Venezuelan midfielder unleashed his patented Brujo blast off the volley and smashed it on target with the ball curling away from the keeper and inside the post.
Stoppage time went to a new level of insanity with seven minutes added to the 90’ which presented both sides one more chance to bag a game winner. First, it was the hosts with Pereyra finding Ramiro Enrique for a right-footed shot that crashed off the crossbar. Two minutes later it was Uhre with the chance as he took a hard pass on the grass from Harriel and ripped a one-timer off the crossbar as well. The ball fell right back to the Union attacker but again bounced right to the keeper.
Philadelphia Union returns to Subaru Park for the final time in June as they welcome Eastern Conference foe Inter Miami CF on Saturday, June 24th, for Unity Night presented by WSFS Bank. Kick off is set for 7:30PM ET with tickets extremely limited for the contest. Fans unable to secure a seat can catch the contest with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
