Battling the cold weather and a sloppy first half, the Union came alive in the second half to pick up a valuable standings point in their home opener on Saturday night. The half became that pivotal adjustment time for Philadelphia after falling behind twice in the match.
“We had a good speech with Jim,” Daniel Gazdag said. “We also knew that we weren’t playing on the level we could. The problem is we have to do this for 90 minutes because it’s happened twice now that we played really slow in the first half.”
There was little chance creation in the first half and the Union payed for it in this one. The boys in blue fell behind after Chicago Fire homegrown Brain Gutierrez at the 39th minute made a fantastic individual effort to beat Union goalkeeper Oliver Semmle top-shelf. Semmle, 25, was filling in for the injured Andre Blake and was not busy in this one, but inserted himself well in the contest when needed.
“Oliver wasn’t involved a ton,” Jim Curtin said in his post-game presser. “Sometimes those are the hardest nights for goalkeepers because all of the sudden there’s only a chance or two in the second half. But, I think he’ll get confidence from this.”
As did the rest of the team. The second half saw a flurry of action for both clubs and also saw two VAR reviews that took goals away from Daniel Gazdag and Nathan Harriel. The club persevered and eventually got a tally from Gazdag late to get the game level which you can see here. The replacement referees weren’t an issue for the players and it certainly didn’t make the match feel any less exciting. Still, Jim Curtin knows his club is a work in progress this stage of the year and that they are capable of much more.
“When the second half started, I think we looked like ourselves again,” Curtin said. “We showed a lot of character to get back in the game, but obviously, we are never happy with a tie at home. Some good things, some things we can definitely clean up and work on.”
They Said it
Daniel Gazdag on his Game tying goal in Stoppage Time: “It was a good team goal. It was a nice ball from Quinney to Jose and I was expecting the ball on the far post. We practice that.”
Jim Curtin on the play of Quinn Sullivan: “I will say, with Quinney, he’s still a teenager. He created a ton and was probably one our best players tonight. But, now in those certain moments, slowing down to make that final pass, when to dribble versus when to pass, getting all those little things right, he’s still going to work on those and improve.”
Mikeal Urhe on a better second half: “We just came out with a different energy, more belief I would say. Also, having a good start, showing that we can do it at the start of the half gave us a morale boost.”
Quinn Sullivan on his chemistry with teammate Nathan Harriel: “Nate and I have a really good connection on the right side. We do well creating 2-v-1 actions and Nate makes really good runs forward when I am driving inside in order to create that overload. I’m hoping we can keep building on it.”
On Deck
The Union will return to action on Tuesday, when they host Saprissa in CONCACAF Champions Cup play at 8:15. The match will be broadcast by FS2.
