The Union returned home to play FC Cincinnati on MLS Decision Day on Saturday night, falling 2-1 in the match. Philly ends their 2024 MLS campaign with 37 points and a 9-15-10 record and will miss the post-season for the first time since 2017. Let’s wrap on all the sights and sounds of the match:
Sullivan Scores Early
Just two minutes into the match, the Union took the 1-0 lead on a perfectly placed Quinn Sullivan shot in the far corner. According to MLS Communications, Sullivan became the youngest player in club history to produce at least 10 goals and 10 assists in regular-season play at 20 years and 208 days old. Unfortunately, that was the best the night got for the boys in blue.
“Conceding before half, we had three or four chances to clear the ball and we just didn’t get it done,” Head Coach Jim Curtin said. “Coming out of the second half, we obviously had an unfortunate error against a good team. You can’t give teams goals.”
Of course, Curtin is referring to the Jakob Glesnes own goal at the beginning of the second half here. A true microcosm of the season on the whole, the Union paid for a litany of decisions, both on the pitch and off of it this year. It’s on the players and coaches for not executing better, but it’s also on the Union braintrust for not adding to the club when Damion Lowe, Julian Carranza and Jose Martinez were lost to transfers.
This is a critical up-coming winter for the Union. Aside from the investment in the club’s academy, the Union also need to spend some cash to add some talent.
Fitting Ending
Speaking of the Glesnes own goal, this is the second time this has happened to the Norwegian defender this season, as Jose points out above.
“The general rule for any center back, outside back, always pass it back outside the post,” Curtin said. “We paid for it.”
Glesnes, like many in the club, had an up and down season for the Union. He was far from the only player, but his mistakes that led to goals against seemingly stuck out in a larger way. Philly will need him to return to his 2022 Defender of the Year form for the team to get back to competing.
They Said It
Jim Curtin on the Union’s off-season focus: “We’ll have to look back and analyze everything, breakdown what we did well this year and what we did very poorly, which I thought was defensively as a team, we conceded too many goals. We’ll have to retool, I don’t think we’ll have to tear the whole thing down.”
Kai Wagner on the Club’s Competitiveness: “I thought they were all over us today. I think they had a better gameplan, they wanted to win more than we wanted to win I felt.”
Jakob Glesnes on His Own Goal: “It’s just bad from me. I tried to play the ball back to Dre and he was out to get it. There’s more to say about that.”
Ale Bedoya on the roster turnover throughout the season: “I could give you some really good material for your articles, but I think I’ll hold off because I’m feeling emotional tonight. I don’t want to say the wrong thing. I think it’s pretty clear to many what some of the issues are, and I’ve just tried my best to keep everyone together, motivated, and confident. We went through a really bad stretch in the summer. We all saw it; the international breaks and injuries, especially losing key players, really hurt us.”
Thank You!
As a side, I’d like to thank everyone who stopped by and read an article throughout this very trying season. This site doesn’t grow without your support and interactions so I am incredibly grateful. This season was my first covering the Union and I had an awesome time doing so. I’ve met a number of great people along the way; from fellow media members to players and staff as well.
We hope to return next year to cover the team in person. In the meantime, we’ll continue to cover the Union and their off-season plans in detail over at the Ramos Roundup up until the 2025 season.
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