Daniel Gazdag and Tai Baribo combined in the first half for the game's only goal as Philadelphia Union began its Leagues Cup journey with a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC.
The Union forward maintained his impectible run of form with his seventh goal in the last eight contests. Baribo's lone score of the contest came on the counter attacking as Daniel Gazdag chased down a ball near the endline and cut it centerally to set up the finish.
On the other end of the pitch, Philly's defense with Andre Blake in net extended their shutout streak to two straight as they limited Charlotte FC without a single shot on frame over the course of the 90 minutes.
Head Coach Jim Curtin welcomed a new face to his starting lineup for the team’s first Leagues Cup match, adding Samuel Adeniran to the mix. The newly acquired forward played 29 minutes in the team’s most recent win against Nashville SC, but his appearance in the lineup marked his first start in the Union’s blue and gold. Curtin started the team’s pair of hat trick heroes in Tai Baribo and Daniel Gazdag alongside him, while the rest of midfield featured team captain Alejandro Bedoya, homegrown Quinn Sullivan, and José Martinez in front of a backline of Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes and Olivier Mbaizo to complete the 4-4-2 diamond.
Charlotte FC had come away with points against the Union in its first two meetings in the Dean Smith era, nabbing a home draw then defeating Curtin’s squad 2-0 at Subaru Park, but Saturday’s matchup was the first time this season they’d played against Blake and a near full strength Union. The only players missing from Philly’s group were Leon Flach plus Nate Harriel and Jack McGlynn, who put on a awe-striking 4-1 performance with the United States’ Mens’ Olympic Team against New Zealand in Paris.
Support from the Subaru Park got loud for their team when Philadelphia earned a corner in the third minute. Unfavorably for the Union, however, it was Charlotte who created momentum off of Wagner’s service, finding a breakaway that unfolded into a cross through the box. The play didn’t amount to anything, but it was an early sign of Charlotte’s good form as of late.
Philly earned another corner chance in the 12th minute, when a Baribo drive toward the net was halted by a tackle out of touch. Elliott connected with Wagner's cross into the box, heading it for a shot but it went just shy of the left post. Baribo found his own header chance off a Wagner free kick in the 16th minute, but instead of his intended direction, it missed high.
Following the crowd’s request to shoot as is custom whenever the team’s Norwegian rocketman touches in the opponent’s territory, Glesnse tried a blast in the 22nd minute however it saw the ball end up in the stands.
Just past the half hour the Boys in Blue claimed the first lead of their Leagues Cup campaign with a Baribo goal assisted by Gazdag from the touchline. Along with the five fans in the river end decked in yellow fruit suits, the crowd went bananas, celebrating Baribo’s seventh goal since signing with Philadelphia Union last August. All of his contributions have come since June 19th when he scored his first Union goal against FC Cincinnati, and he’s since been a game-changing starter for the Union.
Adernian almost extended the lead to 2-0 in the 40th minute, taking a shot from close range but it went just shy of the right post.
Philadelphia Union went to the locker room holding their first lead against Charlotte FC so far this season but the visiting side started off the second half with a drive down the left from Patrick Agyemang, who beat Glesnes to get the ball in the box for a close range shot. Thanks to unrelenting defense from Elliott who recovered to get in his path, the 23-year-old Charlotte striker’s shot missed just shy of the left post.
Adeniran stayed determined in his pursuit of his first Union goal, taking a line drive shot in the 51st minute but it landed in keeper Kristijan Kahlina’s gloves. Iuri Tavares drew a foul on Mbaizo in the 52nd minute, giving Charlotte a free kick that resulted in a sequence of passes in their attacking end, but they weren’t able to make much of it. He went down again in the 54th, this time requiring medical attention and an assist off the field from Charlotte’s training staff.
His injury spurred a double substitution from Charlotte; Dean Smith sent in Tyger Smalls and Karol Swiderski for Tavares and Ben Bender. With the visiting team injected with fresh legs and desperate for a goal, the game ramped in intensity. A yellow card caution was shown to smalls in the 60th minute, causing commotion between the two teams on the field surrounding Jose Martinez, who stayed on the pitch in pain.
For the second time in the second half, the stretcher crew ran out onto the field, but Brujo opted to walk to the opposite sideline with Union training staff instead before returning to play. He rejoined play in time for another Wagner corner, but it ended in another unsuccessful header, this time knocked by Glesnes.
Curtin made his first change of the match with just over 20 minutes remaining, sending in Mikael Uhre in place of Adeniran. The change brought fresh legs to the top of the Union attack as they sought to notch a counter attacking insurance goal against the opposition. The Danish forward put his pace on display shortly after taking to the pitch as he battled a Charlotte defender along the sideline and nearly sparked a solo run.
Charlotte continued to test the Union defense with a trio of corners with a quarter hour remaining but were again left frustrated as the backline prevented a chance. Both sides continued to make adjustments with ten minutes left as Jesus Bueno bulked up the midfielder in place of Bedoya while Brandon Cambridge and Nikola Petkovic entered for the visiting side.
The changes boosted the Boys in Blue as they nearly snagged a second goal from Baribo. Quinn Sullivan dazzled with a mix of craft and speed to leave Charlotte's defense in the dust before cutting a hard pass into the box for the Israeli forward. Baribo settled the ball at his feet and took a place with his right that forced a diving denial from Kristijan Kahlina. On the ensuing corner, Wagner connected with Glesnes for a half chance that flicked off the centerback's head and into the back of the net but the goal was immediately called offside. A quick check from the Video Assistant Referee agreed with the initial call and it wasn't recipricated by the Union faithful.
Despite the chance being held off the board, the Union kept their composure over the final minutes of regulation and six minutes of stoppage time to put themselves in prime position to advance in the tournament.
The Boys in Blue conclude the Leagues Cup Group Stage next weekend when they host Liga MX side Cruz Azul to Subaru Park on Sunday, August 4th. Kick off is set for 8PM with coverage on FS1, UniMas and free on Apple TV.
