The Philadelphia Union lost a tough, winnable game against New York City FC to the score of 2-1.
The first half was a sloppy affair as neither side could really string passes together, especially in the final third. To illustrate this point, in the first half, the Union had a passing percentage of 0% in the final third. "The final ball was lacking a little bit" said Coach Jim Curtin in his postgame press conference. Despite the poor passing, the Union did have opportunities on net. One of their better opportunities for the Union came in the 34th minute, Cristian Maidana had a great opportunity on top of the 18-yard box but only could muster a shot right at NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders. The wingers also managed to send in a plethora of crosses but most of them were poor and cleared away by NYCFC or gobbled up by Saunders in the end.
The second half started out with a goal quickly by CJ Sapong in the 46th minute on a cross by Maidana but not without controversy. On replay, the ball looked to half hit Sapong's thigh then his arm, which allowed the ball to be put at his feet, and then slotted home for a goal. The lead was short lived though as Thomas McNamara scored a beautiful, upper 90 goal from around 25 yards out in the 53rd minute. The Union would attempt to answer back as Andrew Wenger nearly hit home a Le Toux cross in the 69th minute but Wenger could not get there in time to put it in the back of the net far post. Deep into the game, the substitute Patrick Mullins turned and fired a deflected shot that beat Brian Sylvestre near post. While the shot looked clean, both Coach Curtin and Sylvestre told the media the shot had been deflected in some aspect.
Overall, the Union's inability in the end to capitalize on crosses let them down. By the final whistle, the Union had 37 crosses but only 19% accuracy on said crosses. "They gave us some space out wide for sure. It's not that often you get that many crosses" Curtin said. The Union looked dangerous with how many crosses they have but, unfortunately, the players on the end of the crosses were unable to time their runs correctly.
There were many positives for the Union. First, the ability to exploit the wings by Williams and Fabinho again were superb but there was rarely anyone on the other side of the cross to create an opportunity. Second, Richie Marquez continues to prove that he can play at this level at such a young age. Finally, Brian Carroll continues to return to form of younger years tonight and played an outstanding game in the center of the midfield. Curtin praised the defensive midfielder by saying " Brian Carroll played one of the best games I've ever seen him play."
The Union played their 3rd game in the last 8 days, which could have left some to think the Union were playing with tired legs. However, Curtin dismissed this by saying "I dont think it was a fitness thing at all... We were the team that had the fresher legs." Curtin also added, "To New York's credit, they put a lot into the game."
Philadelphia now has a break until their US Open Cup season begins on June 16th versus the Rochester Rhinos and their next MLS game is not until June 20th against Los Angeles.