Philadelphia Union Punished for Mistakes Against Portland
On a day where a positive result would’ve dramatically shifted the tides of the 2017 Philadelphia Union season, an array of small, yet costly mistakes saw them fall at home and left asking more questions.
A far more bearable affair in regards to conditions in Chester, Pennsylvania brought with it a large amount of anticipation and anxiety surrounding this Philadelphia Union team. Sitting at the bottom of the eastern conference is a place that by this organization’s standards is unacceptable in regards to the talent on this deep roster.
Philadelphia’s woes seemed to be nonexistent from the opening kickoff as the flow of the game was primarily dictated by the home side. Chance after chance came for the boys in blue and the flexible tactics put forward by Jim Curtin seemed to have this team picking up right where it left off in the 2nd half of their defeat at D.C. United.
It wasn’t until the 26th minute that a Haris Mendunjanin corner kick found the towering head of Richie Marquez to put Philadelphia up 1-0 and sent the 15,000 in attendance at Talen Energy Stadium into a frenzy. Yet while the celebration was relieving in a sense, a team like the Portland Timbers are hardly phased when it comes to staying calm and being disciplined in their approach to a game.
About five minutes later, Darlington Nagbe found himself in space approaching the goal scorer Marquez and fired a 20+ yard shot past the outstretched hand of Andre Blake. The failure to close down space on a player the likes of the Nagbe is difficult to defend from a defending standpoint, but the skill he possesses in striking the ball calls for a bit of break on the Philadelphia Union’s part.
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It’s what happened after the tying goal that Philadelphia began to regress in their effort to control the game and allow for the Timbers to pick apart the Union defense on numerous attempts leading right up to halftime.
Little changed in the flow of the second half as the lethal Portland attack forced the Union to play into their hand. Not a minute after a double substitution by the Union, a deflected header off a Timbers free kick floated past the Philadelphia keeper and deflated the atmosphere around the stadium immensely.
Philadelphia had their opportunities late on, but a costly mistake by Fabinho misplaying a ball back to Blake freed Darren Mattocks on a breakaway that forced the Union keeper to come off his line and eventually commit a foul in the box. Fanendo Adi calmly finished the penalty attempt in the 86th minute and iced any building the momentum Philly had going in spurts over the course of the half.
Philadelphia finds themselves winless in a seven and a half month span and faced with many difficult decisions going forward in regards to their tactical formation, player selection, and the wailing cries from supporters for Jim Curtin to be relieved of his duties as head coach of the Union.
Next: Philadelphia Union host the Portland Timbers
While there is no sense of panic from the team yet, Philly is aware that results like these cannot be taken lightly as the tension growing among the fanbase is something that has not gone unnoticed. Changes going forward may very well be minimal from the playing standpoint, but anything that may fix the mistakes and mentality of this Union squad must be taken into consideration if this team is going to turn their 2017 MLS campaign around for the better.