The lead up to the first official match featuring Philadelphia’s MLS entry was a well-planned event, but despite the best of intentions, the Union’s debut didn’t live up to expectations.
The local side played well, but it all unraveled after the forty minute mark when Toni Stahl was sent off after being handed a red card. The second year Seattle Sounders sent off the Union 2-0 off of inspired performances from Brad Evans and Fredy Montero. The latter’s well-placed header could likely be the goal of the season – you need see this one to believe it.
Although the match didn’t start off well for the Union – Danny Califf got a yellow card in the first minute – the unit was able to hold its own against a much better and practiced Seattle side.
Despite giving up a goal to Brad Evans in the 12th minute, the team defended well and passed even better. While translating the expert passing into a defined attack remained a problem throughout the duration of the match, Michael Orozco got off an excellent strike that just missed finding the back of the net.
As the match wore, the deficiencies of the Union very much rose to the surface. The team fouled too much, coming up with six yellow cards and one red card at the end of regulation. A knee jerk supporter could claim that the ref had it in for the Union, and while some of the calls were questionable, Philly just played too rough.
The Union were also unable to translate their passing into effective strikes. Going into game two against DC United, the team is going to need to plan their attacks better and not just shoot when they’re in the vicinity of the net.
It wasn’t all bad for Philadelphia. Midfielder Roger Torres, on loan from Colombian side América de Cali, knew exactly what he was doing on the pitch. The 18-year old who is currently with Philly so he can see regular playing time, was absolute class and is an early bright spot in this very young season.
Former Seattle striker Sebastien Le Toux also looked excellent on the pitch. He had our only excellent shot at goal, but he was well offside.
While game one in the history of the Philadelphia Union wasn’t what the city had anticipated, supporters need to keep in mind that this is not only a new team, but also the youngest one in MLS. It’s likely going to be a very long season, but many of these early mistakes are easily correctable.
