Well it is probably that time. I am Jordan Wohl and thanks for following along with us tonight. Be sure to stick around for analysis all week about the Union and the Open Cup Finals
Couldnt have asked for a better finals. Sporting wins an instant classic
Jordi Quintilla with a chance to win it for SKC. He steps up and SCORES. Sporting Kansas City win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup!
Wenger is up for the Union. He steps up and IS SAVED BY MELIA
Ellis for SKC SCORES TOP CORNER! (6-6 after 7 rounds)
Gaddis is up and he places it in the corner! (6-5 Union)
Zusi for SKC is up next. He steps up and SCORES IT SENDING MCCARTHY THE WRONG WAY! (5-5 after 6 rounds)
Lahoud is up next. He steps up and SLAMS IT HOME WITH A BLAST! (5-4 Union)
Nagamura is up now and HE SCORES IN THE RIGHT CORNER (4-4 after 5 rounds)
Conor Casey is up right now. He steps up and makes it past a diving Melia! (4-3 Union)
Besler is up now for SKC. He steps up AND HITS IT IN THE CORNER! (3-3 after 4 rounds)
Barnetta is up now. He steps up and MAKES IT TOP SHELF (3-2 Union)
Nemeth is up now and SAVED BY MCCARTHY WITH A DIVE TO HIS RIGHT! (2-2 after 3 rounds)
Edu is next and ITS SAVED BY MELIA (2-2 Union)
Dwyer steps up and slots it top corner! Excellent Penalty! (2-2 after 2 rounds)
Dom Dwyer is up next
Nogueira steps for Philly and makes it! (2-1 Union)
Feilhaber steps up for SKC and SCORES in the left corner (1-1)
Le Toux steps up and MAKES IT. TOP SHELF (1-0 Union)
HERE WE GO! Le Toux will take the first PK for the Union
AND WE HEAD TO PKS!!
120': McCarthy in for Blake. Curtin really rolling the dice here. But McCarthy has come up big in PKs before.
120': Union Corner Kick. It is cleared away. And it looks like John McCarthy is warming up.
119': Union free kick by mid field.
117': CLOSE! Edu's header goes just wide. Goal Kick Sporting
116': Free Kick Union leads to a corner kick
115': Goal Kick Union. Union sub: CJ Sapong out for Wenger
115': Wenger looks to come in for the Union
114': Sporting Throw-in leads to a great save by Blake
112': Sporting final sub: Petersen in for Myers
111': Sporting Corner Kick after Gaddis hits the ball out
110': CLOSE! Union Corner is collected on the line by Melia
109': Union Corner Kick
107': Union Free Kick by half field. Edu receives it and has a shot but it is parried away by Melia
106': Myers is cautioned for a bad challenge on Le Toux
Heart of a warrior, Edu is back up after being down for a while in between halves. Back in the game
Curtin still not going to bench. Perhaps he goes to McCarthy in 119 for penalties
105': Union Corner Kick. Ball goes throw the box but misses everyone. Edu is down in the box still as the whistle blows for the first half of stoppage time
104': Zusi is cautioned for a bad challenge on Sapong
103': Union Throw-in deep in SKC territory
100': Union and KC trading barbs back and forth here in the first part of extra time
99': Feilhaber's ball is collected by Blake easily
98': Sporting Free Kick is headed right to Blake
97': Sporting Cross goes long, Goal Kick Union
94': Nagamura cautioned. Free kick Union 40 yards out. Ensuing free kick is called back due to offsides. Free Kick Sporting on the top of the box
93': not much doing so far, a sporting player is on the sidelines getting treatment
Extra time starts!
Curtin still has two subs but his side realy had to hold on there at the end. Expect him to go to the bench early here
FULL REGULATION TIME: 1-1. Settle in we have 30 more minutes to go
90'+4': Quintilla with a good shot but just wide. Goal Kick Union.
90'+3': Sapong turns and fires but it was a weak shot and always going wide
90'+2': Good cross by Sporting but nobody home and is collected by Blake.
90'+1': Sapong is cautioned for the foul on Metia. Free kick Sporting in their box
90': 4 minutes added on
90': Corner goes over everyone and leads to a Union goal kick
88': Edu with a great tackle to force a sporting corner
87': Nogueira fouls a Sporting player on the top of the box. Free Kick Sporting
86': Besler is cautioned for taking down Barnetta at midfield. Free Kick Union
Announced attendance is about 14,000
85': Free kick is sent right to Blake. Easy collection for him
84': Edu fouls Dwyer by midfield. Free Kick Sporting.
83': Union Free Kick is sent in but collected by Melia
82': Corner is played out and sent back in but it goes out on the Union for a Sporting Goal Kick
81': Union Corner as the crowd volume rises again
80': Sapong finds a good Conor Casey ball and hits the side netting
79': Unionm Corner Kick is bobbled around the box but collected by Melia
Very weird sub for Curtin to take out his best midfielder for Casey. But, in Casey fashion, he will either score or get a red card or both
77': Philadelphia subsitution: Casey on for Maidana
75': Sporting Free Kick by half field
73': Shot is sent right at Blake but the ball is punted out for a Sporting injury
72': Edu fouls Quintilla in a dangerous spot. Free Kick Sporting ont he side of the box
71': Quintilla is cautioned for a poor tackle on Lahoud
69': Corner leads to nothing doing as it is cleared out
68': Sporting Corner
66': Sporting Sub: Quintilla in for Mustivar
65': GOAL SPORTING! Kristian Nemeth with a curler past a diving Blake. What a shot!
64': Sporting Free Kick around midfield
61': Corner is played in but is eventually cleared out by the Union defense
61': Sporting Corner Kick as their pressure intensifies
60': Sporting Free Kick from 35 yards out
54': GOAL DISALLOWED! SPORTING FOUL AS BLAKE IS KICKED IN THE HEAD. INJURY TIMEOUT!
53': Free kick is sent in by Barnetta but it is wide. Goal Kick Sporting
52': Free Kick Union off to the side of the box. Dangerous position. Ellis is lucky to not get a second yellow card there
48': Sapong is fouled past midfield in the offensive half. Free kick Union. Ensuing free kick hits off Marquez's forehead but goes no where
47': Corner Kick Union after Barnetta's cross is hit out
2nd Half Starts Now!
Philadelphia lead last year in the Open Cup, so we can imagine Curtin is telling his team right now to not get complacent and keep their foot on the pedal
Le Toux once again rises up to the challenge in an Open Cup
Very good first 45 for the Union. Hard to not say their lead is deserved here.
45': HALFTIME AND THE UNION LEAD 1-0 IN THE U.S. OPEN CUP FINAL
45': 1 minute of added time in the first half
43': Ray Gaddis fouls an Sporting player. The free kick finds someone on the other end but is headed over the net. Goal Kick Union
42': Throw in for the Union in the defensive half
39': Fabinho playing lockdown defense Zusi there to get the Union a throw in in the defensive half
38': Nogueira goes down in the box! No Call!
37': CLOSE x2! Le Toux is stoned by Melia and then Melia makes another great save on a Barnetta shot
35': Good Cross by just barely misses Sapong's head
34': Seth Sinovic holds maidana back as he gets past him. Yellow Card to Sinovic and Union Free Kick near half field
34': Zusi with a bad foul and a ticking off by the ref. Lucky to escape with no card there
33': Sporting trying to build from the back
32': Weak Sporting cross is collected by Blake
30': injury time out for a second as Sapong and Mustivar are tangled up
29': Ensuing Free Kick almost finds Sapong but is cleared away by Kansas City
29': Kevin Ellis is Cautioned for a professional foul
Well deserved goal for the Union who have been the better side tonight
A great ball by Nogueira that Le Toux runs onto a slots it home. MR. OPEN CUP INDEED!
22': GOAL AND ITS SEBASTIEN LE TOUX!!!! 1-0 UNION
21': Bad tackle from Lahoud on Feilhaber. YELLOW CARD LAHOUD!
20': Sapong with a bicycle attempt. Good contact but right to Melia
19': Nogueira fouled. Free Kick Union around half field.
18': Sporting shot on net goes into the side netting. Goal Kick Union
17': Union with some good possession here and it leads to a Corner Kick for Philadelphia
15': CJ Sapong with a good opportunity off a SKC defensive mistake but hits it right to Melia
13': Throw-in for the Union deep in SKC territory
12': OFF THE POST! Sporting;s Nagamuras shot is off the post past Blake but it rebounds right into his arms.
10': Good Shot for Nemeth but Blake dives to his left to claim it
8': Union deflect it out for another Corner for Sporting. Blake claims it off his line
7': Corner Kick Sporting
6':Foul at half field. Free Kick Sporting
4': Another good opportunity for the Union but Barnetta cant find the target
3': CLOSE! The ensuing corner goes off Edu's outside fo the foot and is saved by Melia
3': Maidana's cross is knoicked out for a Corner
1': An Early Goal Kick for the Union
Kickoff!
The national anthem has been sung and the kickoff is seconds away
Heres a video of tonights processional! https://mobile.twitter.com/Jdwohl2/status/649359017974865921
It is a loud night tonight at PPL Park. The River End is packing in tight and the traveling SKC Supporters are ready for kickoff!
Not to mention Benny Feilhaber who is an MLS MVP candidate. Vincent Nogueira will need to step up his defense tonight, something he rarely needs to do.
It will be very interesting to watch the matchup between Dwyer and Lahoud. Dwyer is obviously a dangerous player that will need constant guarding.
Only 45 minutes till kickoff! Stick here for live coverage right from ppl park
Nemeth for Sporting is also good to go
Union are going with Blake and Lahoud tonight instead of McCarthy and Carroll
Not to be outdone, The River End, home to the Philadelphia Union's supporters group, Sons of Ben, is reportedly soldout. The River End holds approximately 2000 people. However, most of the other parts of PPL Park are not sold out and it is not close either.
It is being reported by Kansas City Cauldron, the SKC loose affiliation of supporters groups, that approximately 800 Sporting fans will be in attendance on Wednesday night.
In another interesting story of players playing their former clubs, former Union centerback and fan favorite Amobi Okugo will feel at home at PPL Park. Unfortunately for Okugo, he is cup-tied to Orlando City so he will be relegated to being a spectator. Former Sporting Forward CJ Sapong will definitely see the field as he will lineup against his former squad.
The main contentious decision that Union fans are discussing ahead of Wednesday night is who should start in net: John McCarthy or Andre Blake. For a more indepth look at the choice, read our preview below. The decision breaks down to whether Curtin wants to give McCarthy the opportunity to finish what he started or give Blake, who is arguably the better goalkeeper, the start in the biggest game this season for the Union.
VAVEL has a few different previews, each breaking down a certain piece of the Union lineup: Goalkeeper, Defense and Midfield, Forwards and Bench.
Sporting Kansas City Coach Peter Vermes said also on Monday in his pregame press conference, “The guys have obviously taken it very seriously like I think every team does in the league, and we’re looking for an exciting game. We understand that we’re going into the lion’s den in Philadelphia. It’s not going to be easy. Playing finals away from home are difficult, so that’s a tough one. We realize it’s going to be difficult, but at the same time we’re up for the challenge.”
Philadelphia Union Coach Jim Curtin said Monday in his pregame press conference: “We had some heartbreak in this competition last year after the game against Seattle where we came inches away from winning—a ball off the post in the 90th minute. We talked about getting back to the Final and it’s very easy to talk about things, it’s a whole other thing to actually do it”. …”There’s only two trophies in this country that you can lift:the MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. It’s a competition I take very seriously from when I was a player in Chicago and have passed that on to the guys here in Philadelphia. We’re very focused, ready to go, excited for the match. It’ll be a great game at PPL Park.”
Kansas City had a pretty dominant march to the finals themselves. In the Fourth Round, Sporting beat USL’s Saint Louis FC,1-0. For the Round of 16, Sporting decimated FC Dallas, 6-2, behind four goals from Dom Dwyer. In the Quarterfinals, Sporting took care of business against Houston Dynamo by winning 3-1. Lastly, in the Semifinals, Kansas City beat Real Salt Lake, 3-1, behind two late goals in the 80th and 85th minute.
Philadelphia had a bizarre run to these finals. In the Fourth Round, Philadelphia beat USL-side Rochester Rhinos in a penalty kick shootout, thanks to John McCarthy and his multiple saves in the shootout. In the Round of 16, Philadelphia beat D.C. United, 2-1, despite playing a man down for nearly the entire game. In the Quarterfinals, Philadelphia won again in another penalty kick shootout against New York Red Bulls,1-1, despite playing a man down for 50 minutes of regular time and all 30 minutes of extra time. In the Semifinals, Philadelphia saw off Chicago Fire,1-0, thanks to a goal from all time leading U.S. Open Cup scorer Sebastien Le Toux.
The winner of this year’s U.S. Open Cup will receive $250,000 to be split among the players as well as entrance into the 2016-2017 CONCACAF Champions League.
Philadelphia Union has never lifted the trophy in their existence. But, this will be the second straight year of reaching the Finals.
In terms of success in this tournament, Sporting Kansas City has lifted the Dewar Cup twice in 2004 and 2012. However, as of recently, Sporting has not advanced through the fifth round(Round of 16) since their 2013 Open Cup win.
One of the main changes in terms of fans is that this Open Cup Final will be broadcasted live on ESPN2. Last year, the tournament was on GOLTV, which is a premium channel for most viewers. To see the tournament on the ESPN Networks is hopefully a signal of the Open Cup getting the publicity it deserves.
This is Philadelphia’s second straight Open Cup Final at PPL Park. In the 2014 edition of the tournament, Philadelphia fell to Seattle Sounders, 3-1 in extra time.
Hello! Welcome to VAVEL’s live coverage of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final between Philadelphia Union and Sporting Kansas City. I’m Jordan Wohl and I will be providing minute-to-minute coverage pregame, mid-game and postgame. Kickoff is scheduled for 7PM EST (TV:ESPN2).