Philadelphia Union saw its unbeaten streak come to an end against the San Joes Earthquakes, falling on the road 2-1 in the late night clash.
Head Coach Jim Curtin said in his pre-game press conference on Wednesday afternoon that a quick look at the statsheet shows where the Quakes get their production from between Cristian Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse. Eight minutes after the opening whistle the sheet became reality with Ebobisse giving the hosts the lead with a long range strike from outside the box. With the Boys in Blue deploying the 5-2-1-2 once again, the San Jose playmaker drifted to the center circle to pull the Union center backs apart. With an inch of space he hit a long pass for United States U-20 forward Cade Cowell to spark the counter attack. With the Union racing into the box, Cowell patiently slowed up his run before picking out Ebobisse at the top of the box. Full of confidence, the 26-year-old whipped a shot on the ground that snuck inside the back post for the 1-0 lead.
Philly didn’t hang their heads facing the deficit and instead sought a quick response with their high press forcing a San Jose center back Rodrigues to concede a corner kick with Daniel Gazdag hunting for a turnover at the end line. The pressure turned into a goal as Kai Wagner’s set piece service connected with a smashing header from Damion Lowe that was so hard that even a glove by the keeper couldn’t keep the equalizer out in the 18th minute.
Six minutes later the Boys in Blue were forced to show their tactical flexibility as Lowe came up injured that necessitated an early return to the pitch for homegrown Jack McGlynn. The midfielder’s appearance put the Union into their regular 4-4-2 diamond shape, forcing the hosts to focus their attacks on the flanks with the added midfielder in the center of the park.
McGlynn’s ability to see the full field and where to put the ball was on display at the half hour mark as he collected a forward pass from the defense and quickly sent it out wide to Wagner. Taking a touch inside, the German left back sent a hard pass on the grass to Julian Carranza who dummied it so it could drift into the six for Mikael Uhre. Racing both a Quakes defender and the on-rushing keeper, the Danish forward rang a quick shot off the keeper’s chest.
Both sides pushed for a late goal before the halftime break with each trading dangerous crosses into the box that might have been a tap in if either side had a made a run to the back post. Philly however were able to generate a second scoring chance late in the half with a beautiful display of passing to break Quakes defense wide open for a high-percentage scoring opportunity. Jakob Glesnes started it all coming near the center stripe and sending a pass to the right flank for Nathan Harriel. The Union homegrown opted for the next level pass as he threaded a needle to hit Gazdag as he drifted centrally between the Quakes midfield and defensive line. With the San Jose center back frozen the Hungarian redirected the volley forward and into the path of Jesus Bueno. 1v1 against the keeper, the Venezuelan midfielder went selfless, cutting back a pass for Carranza near the penalty spot. Racing to hit the ball on the first touch, the forward put a little too much on it as the right-footed blast went over the bar.
Carranza didn’t hang his head after the opportunity and continued to get into dangerous areas and was presented his first chance early in the second half. Always with the green light to have a go on goal, the Argentine forward ripped a hard blast in the 49th minute saved at the post by keeper.
Following the chance from the Union the hosts turned up the pressure with long spells of possession as they sough to get their playmaking duo of Espinoza and Ebobisse. With the service coming from out wide, Espinoza was more than willing to drift to it and played a dangerous ball over the top of the Union defense that connected with his partner but just behind him. With the focus on the duo, it was another pair of Quake teammates that put the hosts ahead in the 58th minute as Carlos Gruezo hit a pass to the top of the box where Miguel Trauco firef a laser into the upper corner for the 2-1 lead.
Philly again went right back to work as San Jose dropped into a deep defensive shape and allowed the Union long spells of possession. With the direct route cut off, the Union again put the ball with McGlynn and Gazdag deep in the midfield for a spark. One came at the hour mark as Gazdag quickly turned and pushed the ball into space for Uhre to show his deceptive pace. Racing into the box, the Union forward went for a right-footed shot at a tight angle that was saved by the keeper. Less than 30 seconds later, Carranza had a shot inside the six but couldn’t connect on a volley off the Union corner. In the 73rd minute it was again the two-time MLS Player of the Matchday recipient at the doorstep as he flicked a diving header on a Harriel cross that was again stopped.
Curtin turned to more offensive firepower in the 76th minute with Quinn Sullivan and Joaquin Torres entering with just under 15 minutes to go in regulation. Philly sought more set piece magic in the 82nd minute after Carranza earned a free kick chance for the Boys in Blue just outside the box. Wagner stood over the ball for a few seconds and then whipped in a left-footed cross to the back post for an open Glesnes who couldn’t redirect the ball into the back of the net.
Just before stoppage time the Union tested the keeper one more time with quick passes setting up a shot that required a big save. With the box loaded with players from both squads, Gazdag and McGlynn traded passes outside the box looking for an inch for get a shot off. The Union homegrown found it and had a go with a left-footed ripped that had goal written all over it but a diving stop kept the Quakes unbeaten home form in tact and ended the Union’s streak.
Philly returns to action after the FIFA International Window with a road contest at Orlando City SC on Wednesday, June 21st. Kick off from Florida is set for 7:30PM ET with the action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
