Philadelphia Union – Columbus Crew 0:1 – The Philly Soccer Page

Photo by Kyle Grantham

Following their run to the 2024 Leagues Cup, Philadelphia Union faced the 2023 MLS Cup and recent Leagues Cup champions at home on Wednesday night. The game was moved from the previous Saturday so that both teams could compete in the Leagues Cup final and third-place match on Sunday. Importantly, the two teams met a week earlier in the Leagues Cup semifinals at Lower.com Field in Columbus, where Columbus won 3-1. The boys in blue were looking to get revenge at home and extend their two-game winning streak in the regular season.

Columbus began the game with its three forwards, Cucho Hernandez, Christian Ramirez and Diego Rossi, on the bench. Philadelphia changed its formation from the usual 4-4-2 diamond to a flat version of the same formation with Danley Jean Jacques and Alejandro Bedoya in the center and Quinn Sullivan and Leon Flach on the right and left. This was Danley's first start for the boys in blue. After replacing its usual attackers, Columbus took a 1-0 lead and took three points at Subaru Park.

First half

Union immediately applied pressure, winning five corners in the first four minutes of the game but not having any real chances to score. Between the many corners, Union's homegrown Derrick Jones, now a midfielder for Columbus, received a yellow card for a foul from behind on Alejandro Bedoya. Jones and Danley Jean Jacques showed their physicality in midfield and drew a few fouls each.

Nate Harriel went down in the 17th minute after an awkward landing and was replaced by Olivier Mbaizo. Harriel held his lower back on the way to the locker room.

After the first half drinks break, a right-footed shot from Quinn Sullivan hit the crossbar, giving Union some hope. Had the shot been a little lower, it would have beaten Patrick Schulte at the near post. The only other promising opportunity was a free kick from Kai Wagner, which found Tai Baribo in the six-yard box. Baribo could not get the shot on target, however.

Shortly before the end of stoppage time, Wagner received a yellow card for a tackle on Sean Zawadzki deep in Columbus' defensive third. Philadelphia went to the locker room lucky not to have conceded a goal.

Second half

Quinn Sullivan drew a foul in the right corner after dribbling through two defenders. The second ball after the free kick led to another shot from Baribo, this time saved by Patrick Schulte and resulting in a corner. A questionable linesman performance followed and Columbus was awarded a goal kick after the ball appeared to deflect off a shot by Bedoya at the far post. Again, Union came out of the locker room to score the first goal.

Columbus' answer was a weak shot by Jacen Russell-Lowe that was easily intercepted by Andre Blake. None of the three front-line substitutes made much of an impression and Russell-Lowe was promptly replaced by Diego Rossi.

Quinn Sullivan had another chance from long range after a series of Union possessions, but his shot again went over the goal frame. On the following play, Columbus substitute Yaw Yeboah broke through the defense line, but his shot was deflected by Blake for a corner.

After the second half cool-down, Jean Jacques went to the bench and Curtin returned to the field, bringing on Uhre and McGlynn, while Columbus brought on Cucho Hernandez.

Not long after the substitutions, another shot from Yaw Yeboah beat Mbaizo, Elliott and Blake to make it 1-0. Yeboah was left completely unmarked at the far post as Mbaizo opted to go to the goal line and failed to save the shot. Columbus didn't allow anything from that point on, securing its second win over the Union in seven days.

Three points:

• Defensive depth: As the season draws to a close, the Union will only have Jack Elliott and Jakob Glesnes at centre-back. Nate Harriel's potential injury further complicates the situation, as he was Curtin's third choice centre-back and backup left-back. Will the remaining defenders be able to stay healthy for the final eight games of the regular season?
• 4-4-2 flat: Jim Curtin doesn't deviate from his popular diamond formation very often, with the exception of his back five when the Union had an extra centre-back at their disposal. This flat variation seemed to suit the introduction of Danley Jean Jacques, but didn't produce anything spectacular.
• The success of Columbus: With two trophies last year, you might think Columbus would have adopted LAFC's roster-building method. In reality, they have a few strong attackers, a leader in Darlington Nagbe and a host of younger, eager players. The build is certainly possible for the Union if Ernst Tanner wanted to replicate it.

Lineups

Philadelphia

Starters: Andre Blake, Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Nate Harriel (Olivier Mbaizo – 22'), Danley Jean Jacques (Jack McGlynn – 72'), Alejandro Bedoya (Mikael Uhre – 72'), Leon Flach, Quinn Sullivan , Tai Baribo, Daniel Gazdag

Unused substitutes: Oliver Semmle, Olwelthu Makhanya, Jesus Bueno, Jack McGlynn, Jeremy Rafanello, Sam Adeniran, Chris Donovan, Mikeal Uhre

Columbus

Starters: Patrick Schulte, Andres Herrea (Yaw Yeboah – 62'), DeJuan Jones (Max Arfsten – 62'), Malte Amundsen, Yevhen Cheberko, Derrick Jones, Dylan Chambost, Aziel Jackson (Cucho Hernandez – 72'), Alexandru Matan ( Nagbe – 72'), Sean Zawadzki, Jacen Russell-Rowe (Diego Rossi – 62')

Unused substitutes: Nicholas Hagen, Darlington Nagbe, Diego Hernandez, Christian Ramirez, Mohamed Farsi, Steven Moreira

Summary of the rating:

CLB: Yaw Yeboah– 75'

Discipline overview:

CLB: Derrick Jones – 3”

PHI: Kai Wagner– 45+4”

CLB: Malte Amundsen– 89'

CLB: Patrick Schulte– 90+6'

Referee: Ismir Pekmic