(Philadelphia, PA) The Philadelphia Union and Sporting Kansas City faced-off Saturday night in Talen Energy Stadium in a rematch of the 2015 U.S Open Cup. It was a crucial game for both teams in terms of points; the Union came into the game tied with the New York Red Bulls in points with 37 each, though the Red Bulls had the edge due to goal differential. Meanwhile in the Western Conference, Sporting KC is just above the playoff line in fifth place on 38 points. A win would have them hop over Los Angeles Galaxy (39 points) for fourth place.
Energy, Despite Tired Legs
The teams came into the game with tired legs. The Union returned from an away fixture with the Columbus Crew—a match they won thanks to goals from the rookie contingent of Keegan Rosenberry and Fabian Herbers. It was also the second game this season where all three rookies—Joshua Yaro being the third—were in the starting 11. After tonight’s game, Jim Curtin had this to say about starting all three rookies:
“When Earnie (Stewart) and I talk about a player, we don’t talk about young or old. We talk about good or bad. If they’re good enough, well put them on the field.”
Sporting KC played their last of five matches in a 15-day stretch. Tired legs were to be expected, but both teams came out with energy.
U.S. Open Cup Re-match
On September 30th of last season, the two teams met in Talen Energy Stadium to fight for the U.S. Open Cup trophy. It would have been the Union’s first ever trophy. After a one-to-one draw after goals from Sebastien Le Toux and Kriztian Nemeth, the game was decided in penalty kicks. Sporting KC seemed to put the ball in the most perfect spots and won the trophy thanks to misses from both Andrew Wenger and Maurice Edu. It was the second straight year the Union lost in the final, with the previous year losing to Seattle Sounders.
Philadelphia Union Win Against Nine-man Sporting Kansas City
The match on Saturday was chippy, particularly early on. In the 19th minute, both Jimmy Medranda and Roger Espinoza of SKC were both handed yellow cards in quick succession—Espinoza for a foul and Medranda for dissent. The game continued to be choppy, with the Union conceding 17 fouls and SKC with 11. The half ended scoreless, with the Union getting the bulk of the chances. Twice in the first half, Fabinho crossed the ball well into the box to C.J Sapong, but neither were capitalized on.
In the 59th minute, a second yellow was shown to Jimmy Medranda, who was promptly sent off. SKC were down to ten men for the final third.
The Union got their break in the 67th minute when Roland Alberg curled in a strike from outside the 18-yard box, giving him nine goals in MLS play this season. He also extended his record as the Union’s single season scoring record for a midfielder with nine goals.
In the 87th minute, Roger Espinoza was shown a straight red for violent conduct, forcing SKC down to just nine men.
Tranquillo Barnetta took advantage of being two-men up and buried his fourth goal of the year in the 90th minute. The game ended 2-0 for the Union.
Philadelphia moves up to third place in the Eastern Conference with 40 points. New York Red Bulls play on Sunday to try to equal the result. SKC stays in fifth place, still six point ahead of the Portland Timbers.
The Union travel to Chicago this week to face the Chicago Fire. Unfortunately for the Union, goalkeeper Andre Blake will miss the game due to his international call-up to Jamaica.
Main image credit:
By Something Original at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20765684
