Philadelphia Union Disappoint in Loss to Real Salt Lake

On a muggy night at Talen Energy Stadium, the Philadelphia Union welcomed Real Salt Lake  and fell 2-1.

During the first half, it was a pretty tepid performance from both teams. The Philadelphia Union controlled the pace of play but there were no true chances outside of a weak roller from Plata that ricochetted off the bar. There were fouls left and right and things did get chippy.

Thanks to a stupid challenge by Fabinho we’ll have to see Ray Gaddis make an appearance in the team’s next game, Fabinho will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation. But Roland Alberg erased all of the team’s worries when he hammered home a penalty in the 44th minute that put the boys in blue ahead 1-0 at the half. Alberg is now 4-4 on penalty attempts for the year (that’s pretty good).

Going into the half head coach Jim Curtin said, “I think we can hit them on the counter and get a second goal and get the stadium behind us” Sadly that didn’t happen as Joao Plata scored on a wonder strike in the 48th minute to draw Real Salt Lake (RSL) level in the match.

More from Philadelphia Union

• VIDEO: Even Philly Fans Can’t Hate Messi’s First Goal vs Philadelphia Union
• DraftKings Pennsylvania Promo Will Give You $200 Bonus GUARANTEED for Betting Just $5
• Philadelphia Union 2021 MLS season preview
• Don’t laugh, but the Union might be Philadelphia’s next champions
• Philadelphia Union: Previewing upcoming matchup vs Atlanta United

After finally getting on the scoresheet it didn’t take long for RSL to pull ahead of the Philadelphia Union as Javier Morales bent home a wicked shot to put the team ahead 2-1. Morales then received a yellow card for time wasting as RSL began to slow the game down to their pace.

To counter, Jim Curtin subbed on Fabian Herbers in the 63rd minute for Roland Alberg, who’s influence on the game was beginning to wane. Curtin saw that the team needed a change of pace and Herbers was the guy to offer it. He made smart runs but overall didn’t offer much during a time that most of the team was pretty flat.

The second sub for the Philadelphia Union was Leo Fernandes coming on for Warren Crevalle in what was a head scratcher. Crevalle was a mixed bag on the pitch but he did have a decent showing. Jim Curtin’s justification was that he needed a more attack minded player on the pitch which is understandable with the Union registering three shots on target.

The third Philadelphia Union substitution was Sebastion Le Toux to hope that the team’s all-time leader in most offensive categories could help bring home a point in the final minutes. Fernandes provided a nice spark, including a cross in front of the face of goal in the 80th minute but no one was there to hammer it home (paging CJ Sapong).

The Philadelphia Union threw everything they could forward in the final minutes but Nick Rimando stood tall in the face of goal with two point blank saves off of a Philadelphia Union corner to preserve the 2-1 win for RSL.

The Union have now suffered back to back losses for only the second time this season and are left searching for answers after this loss. CJ Sapong was missing for the entire game and no one could properly provide service to Chris Pontius. Jim Curtin will be tasked with getting the team ready for an all-important matchup with DC United on Saturday, August 6th in what has now become a must win game.

Here’s Alberg’s Penalty Kick:

And Morales’ Strike:

Takeaways:

• The Philadelphia Union need to take higher percentage shots. With the team registering 14 shots, you would expect more than one goal (which didn’t come from open play) but only three of those shots actually found the target. Union players, especially Fabinho, need to work on taking higher percentage shots and not just ripping it at the goal.
• The team missed Tranquillo Barnetta (in the 10). While Alberg was good in the first half, his influence began to wane and he eventually was taken off in favor of Fabian Herbers. Barnetta does a very important job of providing link up play to Sapong and the wings and from what I’ve seen so far, Alberg can’t come close to replicating it.
• Wheres CJ Sapong? He was effectively marked out of this game which can’t happen to your top striker, especially when he possesses the strength that Sapong does. It may be time to experiment with a 4-4-2 to give him a partner up top and relieve some of the pressure that he’s under.

Next: Maurice Edu is Close to Returning

While the loss hurts, The Philadelphia Union are still within striking distance of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. If you told me this at the beginning of the season I would have taken it in a heartbeat but we’ve now fallen victim to raised expectations. The Union will get back on track, just have patience.