Philadelphia Union All-Stars Shine vs. Arsenal F.C.
The stars were out in San Jose as the MLS All-Star Game featured the league’s best squaring off against English Premier League giants Arsenal. Among the members of the squad were Philadelphia Union’s own Andre Blake and Keegan Rosenberry who earned their spot on the team for the sole reason that there’s no one better than these two right now at their respective positions.
Two of the major catalysts behind Philadelphia’s current success in the eastern conference, Blake and Rosenberry were chosen by the fans to compete in this year’s game for their consistent brilliance defensively and polished skill set that is very hard to come by in the United States, especially with the both of them being under the age of 26. Their progression as young professionals made their selection for the starting 11 hardly a surprise, but watching the two of them stand alongside legends of the game such as Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and Didier Drogba provides a real testament to the strides both they and the Union organization have made in the past year.
The past few years have seen the level in competitiveness between Major League Soccer’s finest and European opposition grow immensely. The American all-stars hold an impressive 7-4 record in competition taking down formidable opponents such as Chelsea F.C. and Bayern Munchen. Yet the mindset of Arsenal F.C. going into their upcoming Premier League season is not one of complacency and comfort-ability especially with the rising talent level overseas. This was not a game to be taken lightly by Arsene Wenger’s boys and that message was clear and evident from kick-off.
Andre Blake was tested early and often from Arsenal’s attacking core as the game immediately opened up due to communication issues between the MLS back line and the Union goalkeeper. An early mis-read from Blake and defender Laurent Ciman led to the English side being awarded a penalty in the 10th minute that was put away by Joel Campbell to give the opposition a 1-0 lead. From that moment on however, Blake was brilliant between the posts and was a crucial factor in keeping the all-stars in close range for the entirety of the first half. His reads off of set-pieces were spot on, he did well to come off his line and spread the field and registered three fantastic saves including one that made it to number one on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Play’s from last night.
“This week was great” Blake said after the game in regards to his first All-Star experience. “It is something I will cherish in the long run.” Philadelphia’s goalkeeping sensation received much praise leading up to kick-off and throughout the game from analysts and commentators alike. The number one pick in the 2014 MLS Superdraft has proven himself to be quite the commodity that the Union organization should be extremely proud of after last night’s performance.
Keegan Rosenberry on the other-hand fought valiantly and with poise against the youthful Arsenal side; frustrating and out-working opposition down the wing and in his own defensive area. The rookie right back completed 88% of his passes and registered the second most touches on the team with 31 in total.
The Georgetown product filled open spaces and created chances to advance play through the middle including an early goal scoring opportunity from a perfectly placed cross into the box that was misplayed by midfielder Sacha Kljestan. He also registered two tackles in his 45 minutes of play and was revered by many as a potential front-runner for MLS Rookie of the Year in regards to his play all season and against some of the best in European competition last night.
When asked about his first experience in an all-star game, Rosenberry responded as any other 22 year old in his situation would: “It was awesome. It was everything I thought it would be.” With the way he’s been performing all year, we thought it was pretty awesome too Keegan.
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“I felt pretty good” he added in regards to his performance. “we kept pace with Arsenal and their team.. played them pretty evenly in the first half I thought so I was relatively pleased.”
The result ultimately went in favor of Arsenal after Didier Drogba’s equalizer was cancelled out by a late strike from Chuba Akpom in the 87th minute. Not to worry though Union fans, both Blake and Rosenberry were not on the field when the goal was scored leading myself and many others to speculate whether or not the presence of Philadelphia’s young stars would’ve tilted the game in favor of the MLS squad.
Next: Philadelphia Union Sign Derrick Jones to a Senior Contract
I guess we’ll never know. But if you ask me, the representatives from the 2-1-5 were top dogs on the field last night and Union fans should be very excited about that.
