Philadelphia Union fall to NYCFC as the mistakes continue

The Philadelphia Union switched things up but it wasn’t enough as they fell to NYCFC.

The Philadelphia Union came out attempting to play a different game plan to right the ship but ultimately, the defensive woes continued as they lost 2-0. Jack Harrison had the opener for NYCFC before David Villa’s 60-yard chip was the nail in the coffin for the Union. The Union didn’t create enough chances in this one as their last shot on target was registered in the 27th minute of the match.

From the moment that team lineups dropped it was clear that Jim Curtin had a plan in mind for ending the Philadelphia Union’s rut. Jack Elliott and Roland Alberg replaced Oguchi Onyewu and Derrick Jones respectively. This change saw Alejandro Bedoya drop into a more familiar role as the number eight as Jim Curtin pushed forth a more attacking lineup.

Early on, this lead to progressive ball movement as the Philadelphia Union had no problem pushing forward but the finishing was… non-existent. The first 10 minutes saw Ilsinho and C.J. Sapong wiff on open chances in the box along with Alberg firing a shot wide left. When you’re in a lengthy losing streak, bounces just don’t go your way sadly.

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The Philadelphia Union had a tough time navigating the middle of the pitch in the first half thanks to Alexander Ring patrolling the middle of the park. Even with that, the Philadelphia Union were able to get off eight shots in the half. The issue is that only two of those shots even came close to troubling Sean Johnson. While the Union countered and pressed, NYCFC was more than happy to pass the balls through channels compiling an 88 percent pass completion rate in the half.

It was clear that Patrick Viera felt like his team’s time would come and that it did in the second half when Jack Harrison drove home a pass from  Ronald Matarrita in the 52nd minute. As they’ve been prone to do all season, the entire Philadelphia Union back line was caught ball watching, a trait that has become all too common on the season.

The Philadelphia Union struggled to create any chances in the second half while New York beared down. The Union tried to introduce a change of pace by taking off Roland Alberg (who was largely anonymous) for Adam Najem who made his MLS debut. While Najem wasn’t bad after his introduction, it was clear that it was too little too late for the Union.

The introduction of Jay Simpson to chase a goal ended up causing more harm than good as the Philadelphia Union didn’t know what to do positionally with two strikers on the pitch for the second week in a row. While most of this match I don’t put on Jim Curtin, the team’s lack of organization and lack of a cutting edge in the final 10 minutes of games falls squarely on his shoulders.

in the post game presser, Jack Elliott summed the game up perfectly saying, “If you make a mistake, you’re gonna get punished by world class players. So, you’ve gotta stay focused for a full 90 minutes”

Next: Union look to get on track as NYCFC come to town

When David Villa scored his chipped goal to seal the win for NYCFC, Jack Elliott hanging his head in frustration clearly showed what the team and fans were feeling at the moment. The winless streak goes on, and next up is a clash with the Montreal Impact next Saturday.