Match Recap: Union Make History with 3-0 Start After 2-0 Win Over New England Revolution
Goals from Tai Baribo and Jovan Lukić seal the Union's third consecutive win, keeping them atop the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield standings.
Foxborough — The Philadelphia Union are 3-0 to start the season for the first time in club history after they defeated the New England Revolution 2-0, thanks to goals from Tai Baribo and Jovan Lukić.
The Philadelphia Union's starting XI remained unchanged for the third consecutive week after beginning the season 2-0. Andre Blake started in goal, with a backline of Frankie Westfield, Jakob Glesnes, Olwethu Makhanya, and Kai Wagner. Jovan Lukić and Danley Jean Jacques started as the two sixes, while Dániel Gazdag and Quinn Sullivan played as the two tens. Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo led the front line as the two strikers.
New England had the first real chance in the 16th minute through Carles Gil after a misclearance in the back from Jakob Glesnes. Olwethu Makhanya blocked the Spaniard’s shot, but New England regained possession. Jakob Glesnes missed a tackle and had the ball stolen off him inside the 18-yard box, but New England couldn’t capitalize on the mistakes as Makhanya eventually cleared the danger for good.
Mikael Uhre had a chance in the 17th minute when Tai Baribo played him in 1v1, but Uhre’s effort was denied by New England goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič. Seven minutes later, in the 24th minute, Dániel Gazdag had a chance to make it 1-0 for the Union after some nice hold-up play by Olwethu Makhanya inside New England’s 18-yard box. Makhanya found Uhre with a fancy backheel flick, and Uhre cut the ball to Gazdag, who sent his effort over the crossbar.
The Revolution and the Union went into halftime tied 0-0, with the Union creating the better of the first-half chances.
After a couple of Union chances in the second half, Bradley Carnell made a double substitution in the 64th minute, bringing in Indiana Vassilev for Quinn Sullivan and Bruno Damiani for Mikael Uhre.
The Union had a couple more chances before Andre Blake made his one and only save of the game in the 69th minute, denying a long-range effort from Maximiliano Urruti.
The Union struck in the 76th minute when a Kai Wagner cross found Tai Baribo, who headed home for his MLS-leading sixth goal of the season. With that goal, Baribo joined Ante Razov as the only players in league history to score at least six goals through the first three matches of a season.
As the Union looked to protect their 1-0 lead, Bradley Carnell made his third substitution of the night, bringing on Alejandro Bedoya in the 82nd minute to replace Tai Baribo.
Carnell made his final substitution of the night in the first minute of added time, with Chris Donovan replacing Dániel Gazdag as nine minutes of stoppage time were announced.
In the 97th minute, the Union secured their second and final goal of the evening as Jovan Lukić scored his first career Union goal to seal a 2-0 victory.
With that win, the Union remain on top of the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield standings with a perfect 3-0 record. The Union have a goal differential of +7, having scored a league-high 10 goals while conceding three.
Key Moments
The Union faced a nervy moment in the 16th minute when they were fortunate not to concede after a series of defensive mistakes. Center back Jakob Glesnes was at the heart of all three errors, first misclearing a cross into the box. New England regained possession, and Carles Gil’s shot was blocked by Olwethu Makhanya. Gil regained possession once more, finding Luca Langoni in a dangerous position. Glesnes missed a tackle on Langoni, but Kai Wagner closed him down and forced him wide. Langoni’s subsequent cross was intercepted by Glesnes, but his heavy touch allowed Jackson Yueill to win back possession and sustain New England’s pressure. After further passing, Makhanya finally cleared the ball away for a New England throw-in.
The Union responded with a chance of their own in the 17th minute. Danley Jean Jacques won possession for the Union, and Jakob Glesnes played the ball forward to Dániel Gazdag, who laid off a first-time pass to Tai Baribo. Baribo played a first-time ball forward into Uhre, who unleashed a left-footed strike just outside the 18-yard box. His effort was denied by New England goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič.
The Union’s biggest chance of the first half came in the 24th minute. Defender Olwethu Makhanya won possession at the center circle and carried the ball into New England’s 18-yard box. After some impressive hold-up play, Makhanya found Mikael Uhre with a fancy backheel pass. Uhre laid the ball off to Gazdag, who sent his shot over the crossbar.
The Union survived another scare in the 39th minute after another misclearance by Jakob Glesnes. Carles Gil switched the ball wide to an unmarked Ignatius Ganago, whose cutback pass was intercepted by Glesnes. However, his poor clearance required Quinn Sullivan to clear the ball away for a Revolution corner kick.
At halftime, the score remained 0-0. Despite some defensive struggles, the Union responded well with key chances from Mikael Uhre, Dániel Gazdag, and Quinn Sullivan. This marked the first time this season the Union entered halftime without scoring but also the second consecutive week they avoided conceding in the first half.
In the 51st minute, Kai Wagner’s free kick was pushed onto the crossbar by Aljaž Ivačič. Despite Olwethu Makhanya and Tai Baribo battling to keep the play alive with a pair of headers, the Union couldn’t capitalize.
Andre Blake’s lone save of the match came in the 69th minute when New England played a long ball to substitute Luis Diaz. Diaz found Maximiliano Urruti at the top of the penalty arch, but Blake pushed away Urruti’s long-range strike for a Revolution corner.
The Union’s breakthrough came in the 76th minute, and it was no surprise that Tai Baribo delivered. After New England initially cleared a Kai Wagner corner kick, Frankie Westfield recovered possession for the Union and found Wagner unmarked on the right. Wagner sent a curling cross to Baribo at the back post, where the striker headed home for his sixth goal of the season.
Seven minutes into 10 minutes of added time, Jovan Lukić added the finishing touch. Lukić picked out second-half substitute Alejandro Bedoya, who had snuck behind New England’s backline. Bedoya cut the ball back to Indiana Vassilev, who teed up Lukić for a first-time shot that struck the inside post and found the net for a 2-0 Union victory.
The Union Continue To Find Success On The Road
Winning on the road is a difficult task in any sport, but in MLS, it can be that much harder because of all the travel and the need to adjust to different time zones and elemental challenges. Since 2022, the Union have gone 19-20-14 on the road, which is good for 71 out of a possible 159 points. Playing nearly .500 soccer on the road over the last four years is a credit to the character and determination of this team.
Bradley Carnell is obviously in his first season in charge in Philadelphia, and he can’t take credit for what this team has done in the past. However, the one thing he has noticed in both road games this season is the determination and execution of a game plan that requires a bit of chaos.
“There's a determination to work as a group and work as a collective, and we can slowly see the pieces of the puzzle falling together,” said Bradley Carnell. “But we can only do it if there are 11 guys tuned in and dialed into the game plan, and then when subs come in, that they know exactly what they need to do. And I think we could see that tonight. So, credit to the boys for making it uncomfortable. We [speak] about controlling the game, but we want to cause a chaotic game, and the opponent, playing at home, would like to control the game. We take away that, and then some, and then we start controlling the chaos on the terms that we want to.”
Causing that chaos and making the opponent uncomfortable isn’t anything new, as former head coach Jim Curtin had said in the past about his team’s success on the road. But what we’re seeing early on under Bradley Carnell is a team that is pressing together as a unit. If someone misses a tackle or is slightly out of position, there’s always someone else there covering for them.
You saw it with the substitutions of Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani replacing Quinn Sullivan and Mikael Uhre. When both players came onto the field, there wasn’t a drop in quality. The players came on and continued the hard work rate that Sullivan and Uhre started the game with. Being able to go to your bench and bring in players that don’t cause a drop in quality will go a long way for this group in ensuring they can play this high-press style of soccer throughout the whole season.
Fearless Warrior Like Mentality
Tai Baribo will get all the headlines for scoring six goals in his first three games of the season, but a lot of credit has to be given to Danley Jean Jacques and Jovan Lukić for how well they protect the backline. This marked the first game of the season in which the Union kept a clean sheet, and it’s the second time this season that the Union have only given up two or fewer shots on target in a game.
After giving up 22 shots, with nine on target, against Orlando City in the first game, the Union have given up seven shots and two on target against Cincinnati. Now, against New England, they gave up two shots, with only one on target.
Danley Jean Jacques finished the game with one won tackle, two interceptions, and two ball recoveries. Jovan Lukić, on the other hand, won two tackles and recovered six balls. Both of those players worked fearlessly in the midfield, with an engine that never gives up. When they’re not winning back possession, they’re usually the first two players that the defenders look to in order to start the attack. Danley finished with 65 touches, completing 41/51 passes, with 8 passes toward the final third. Lukić finished with 83 touches, tied for the most on the team, while completing 52/63 passes, with 13 passes toward the final third of the field. New England made it tough at the start for those two, but they quickly came into the game, dictating how the Union were going to play.
"Yeah, it's tough to come here because, you know, if you watch the games before, they really clog up the center of the field. So getting our sixes on the ball is really tough today, and you could see that in the first few minutes of the half. In the first half, it was really tough to get them on the ball, but they grew into the game, and I'm really happy with the way they responded in the second half. So, yeah, there's a good relationship there. It's dynamic, with a kind of fearless, warrior-like mentality on both sides of the ball," said Bradley Carnell.
Yes, as Bradley Carnell said last night, it takes all 11 players to do their job for this team to have success, but it really starts at the heart of the midfield with their two “fearless warrior” sixes in Danley and Lukić. When they’re on top of their game, dictating the flow with their passing, tackles, and ball recoveries, this team will go very far because, as everyone knows, every successful team has to start with a strong spine. The Union certainly have that in the midfield with these two players.
What’s Next?
The Philadelphia Union will take on Nashville SC on Sunday, March 16 (2:00 PM kickoff) at Subaru Park. Nashville comes into Subaru Park with a little bit of momentum after picking up their first win of the season, defeating Portland Timbers 2-0.
Video Credit: Apple TV/MLS Season Pass & Philadelphia Union
Far be it from me to complain...but....It would have been nice for Gazdag to make that goal after Olwethu's good work.