A strong start to the second half wasn’t for Philadelphia Union II as it fell to the rival New York Red Bulls II by a 5-1 margin at Subaru Park on Wednesday night.
After the night started off with a thunderstorm that delayed the start of the match by a full hour, the two rivals traded chances in the opening half with the visiting Red Bulls taking a 1-0 lead into the break after an early strike by Deri Corfe in the 10th minute. The away side nearly doubled its lead just before the break but newly signed Nathan Harriel made a quick reaction stop off a corner kick to keep the halftime deficit at just 1-0.
Sporting a lineup that featured nine of the 11 starters with direct ties to the Philadelphia Union Academy, the youthful energy came alive at the opening whistle of the second half and paid off with Selmir Miscic collecting the club’s first goal of 2020 in the 46th minute. The 17-year-old took advantage of a perfectly weighted cross from Yomi Scintu for the equalizer to push momentum to Union II’s side.
The Red Bulls answered the Union’s equalizer and took the lead again in the 53rd minute when Roy Boateng scored off a set piece which was followed up with more goals to push the lead to 4-1 just six minutes later.
Philadelphia Union II concludes a blistering start to Group F competition of the USL Championship on Saturday, July 25th against Hartford Athletic. Kick off is set for 7 p.m and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
