Game Thread: Philadelphia Union 1 NYCFC 0 Full Time

Full Time - the Philadelphia Union pick up their first win of 2020 thanks to a masterful performance from Andre Blake and a timely goal from Captain Alejandro Bedoya

90’+5 Blake with another big save coming off his line to cut down another chance. Man of the Match performance from him today.

90’+1 Six minutes of stoppage to go

89’ Glesnes goes into the book for a professional foul to stop the NYCFC counter. Free kick leads to a looping header Blake isn’t trouble by.

86’ Wide open shot in the box for Heber on the back post after a deflection but Andre Blake is there with a huge finger tip save to keep it 1-0. Huge huge play there by the Jamaican international.

83’ Two more subs for the Union and it’s Jack de Vries making his MLS debut and Jakob Glesnes. In for Aaronson and Bedoya.

73’ Warren Creavalle subs in for Martinez in a like-for-like substitution. Curtin still has three subs left.

67’ Kacper puts the ball in the net but he was offsides on the play. Union need to snatch another goal here.

63’ GOAAAAAL! Alejandro Bedoya with a left-footed shot in the box that beats Sean Johnson to his right.

61’ Blake forced into a diving save. It looks like there are goals in this one if anyone can get that final ball right.

58’ First sub off the bench is Anthony Fontana in for Ilsinho. He’ll take up the Brazilian’s spot down the right side of the pitch.

48’ NYCFC with a big chance but fortunately Castellanos’ shot is an easy save for Blake

46’ Second half underway.

Halftime - Missed this earlier but apparently Taylor Twellman commented on the broadcast that Celtic is interested in Mark McKenzie. The Union have plenty of ties to Scotland through Rangers (Alejandro Bedoya and Maurice Edu played there, academy director Tommy Wilson came to the Union from there).

45’+6 El Brujo gets taken down with a hard elbow to the chest. Appeared to have the wind knocked out of him but he’ll continue. This game is getting chippy now as you would expect. Jamiro Monteiro slides in and gets a yellow moments after play resumes.

45’ The Union the better team in the first half with some bright attacking moments but it’s showing a bit that this is their first game in four months.

34’ El Brujo goes in the book for a foul in a dangerous spot that Moralez made an absolute meal out of.

25’ Castellanos with his first attempt to draw a penalty. It certainly won’t be the last.

20’ First corner of the game for the U and it ends up with Kacper getting a chance that doesn’t trouble Johnson. Today would be a great day for the Union to end their draught dating back to 2018.

17’ The first part of this game is about what you would expect. Both teams feeling each other out.

1’ We have Philadelphia Union soccer at 9:11 a.m.

In place of their own names, the Philadelphia Union are wearing the names of victims of police brutality on their jerseys. Wow. What a powerful statement.

Starting Lineups

The big news in the starting lineup is that all three of the attackers head coach Jim Curtin said picked up knocks in training are out. The graphic has the team in a 4-4-2 formation with Ilsinho pairing up top with Kacper Przybylko but it will be interesting to see if it ends up being more of a 4-2-3-1 with Ilsinho out wide and Brenden Aaronson filling that space on the left side. This almost guarantees that Jack de Vries and Anthony Fontana will get minutes today since they are the only attackers on the bench.

Jack Elliott and Mark McKenzie pair for the first time in 2020 with Jakob Glesnes on the bench. Glesnes spent some time back in Norway so he had some catching up to do when he rejoined the group so it’s not entirely a surprise that he isn’t starting today.

How to Watch

Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports, Orlando, Florida
When: 9 a.m. ET, Thursday July 9
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN App
Radio: 102.5 FM, 105.3 HD2, 1480 AM
Audio Stream: iHeart App

Injury Report

NYC
Questionable: Sebastien Ibeagha (D) - calf injury, Tony Rocha (M) - hamstring injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

Union
Questionable: Sérgio Santos (F) - upper leg strain, Michee Ngalina (F) - upper leg strain, Andrew Wooten (F) - upper leg strain
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

Series Matchup

NYCFC: 7 wins, 20 goals
Union: 3 wins, 15 goals
1 draw

Officials

Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Eduardo Mariscal;, Matthew Nelson
Fourth Official: Robert Sibiga
VAR: Tim Ford