For the first time since July 12th, the Union pick up a clean sheet victory in MLS play Saturday night. Additionally, one would have to go all the way back to March 16th to find the Philadelphia’s last loss at Subaru Park. Let’s wrap:
Pregame: Holbrook Hurt in Warmups
Already dealing with an Andre Blake injury, the Union’s keeper depth was tested more when recent call-up Pierce Holbrook left warmups with an injury. It looked serious too, as Holbrook was carried to the dressing room by two Philadelphia trainers. Obviously, this meant that the Union did not have a goalkeeper to backup Andrew Rick in this match. Luckily for Philadelphia, it didn’t come to needing a backup, but it’s never good to see a young player suffer a non-contact injury like that.
Hopefully Holbrook isn’t injured too badly. In his post game availability, head coach Bradley Carnell dedicated the shutout to Holbrook in a classy gesture. Of course, the bench boss did not have an update on the 22-year-old goalkeeper yet, but we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for that news in the near future.
Kai and Tai Connection
In the 34′ minute, Tai Baribo got the scoring going with a left footed redirection to the lower left area of the net. The assists came from Kai Wagner and Quinn Sullivan. In fact, this is the fifth time this season Wagner has registered the primary assist on one of Baribo’s goals, making the pair a difficult tandem for anyone to stop.
“We know exactly where I can play him the ball and we where he needs the ball,” Wagner said. “Today we looked at a little bit of video and saw they like to step out, defend more cutback passes.”
According to MLS communications, the goal is Baribo’s 25th with the club in his 50th game; thus making him the fastest player in Union history to reach the mark. Wagner, on the other hand, not only added an assist, but would later added a tally of his own. As a result, Wagner’s goal and assist makes him the the third player in Union history to have 70 goal contributions in MLS play, according to the club.
Milan Making the Starting XI?
Milan IIoski, who is spending time in both the nine and ten positions for Philly, was undeniably one of the Union’s best players in the win. By and large, IIoski’s pace in this game was tremendous, as the 26-year-old truly earned his goal in the 80′ minute to cap off the Philadelphia victory.
“He has the physique of being a mobile, technical, gifted footballer,” Carnell said. “We see a lot of qualities that can accelerate our transition game.”
At times, Carnell has expressed disappointment in the Union’s inability to create shots within 10 seconds of forcing a turnover. All of their goals Saturday, however, were created within that 10-second threshold and perhaps IIoski’s presence in the midfield helped facilitate that. The player is at his best when he is instinctively attacks in transition and knows how to convert chances. It wouldn’t’ be surprising if we see more of him in the starting lineup moving forward.
They Said It
Bradley Carnell on the Union’s Balanced Scoring Attack: “I think we have a history now, in our short history together, that we can distribute the goals amongst everyone.”
Kai Wagner on the Intensity in Training this week: “I think everyone gave more pace with training. It was a little bit harder, a bit more intense. I always say train in the week like how you would play on the weekend.”
Milan IIsoki on Almost Quitting Soccer: “When I left Salt Lake, I didn’t play at all. There was COVID and all this stuff. I didn’t really want to play soccer anymore. I was a little bit fed up with the politics of soccer and how things went so for me, every day is something I’m grateful for. I’m so lucky to do this job. I’ve loved it since I was a little kid. I just went to keep pushing and take advantage of the chances I’m given.”
Did You Know?
Per the Union, Tai Baribo (25 goals) is tied with Alejandro Bedoya for seventh place on the Union’s all-time MLS scoring list.
On Deck
The Union return to the pitch next Saturday , August 30th, when they head to Ohio to take on Cincinnati FC at TQL Stadium for Eastern Conference supremacy. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Apple TV, MLS Season Pass.
