Football is a wonderful game. From that incredible play-off semi final in the SkyBet Championship where Leicester City missed a penalty only for it to be turned into a goal by Watford just moments later, to the Champions League come back in Istanbul where Liverpool overcame Italian giants AC Milan. The MLS this season is proving no different, as the Philadelphia Union found out first hand yesterday. In six minutes of stoppage time, Sporting Kansas City went from glaring at a sloppy, infuriating loss to celebrating their first victory over the Union since 2013.
The still winless Union actually held a 2-1 lead after 90 minutes on Sunday night, only to see it squandered by Jalil Anibaba as he made it 2-2 in the 91st. After that an all out assault plan was launched on a defense who until that moment had held their own. Nemeth scored his first goal of the year as a substitute in the 94th minute to hand Sporting the 3-2 win and continue their unbeaten run as Philly fans looked on, stunned.
Both Goalkeepers had terrible games with M’Bohli continuing his early season struggles. Benny Feilhaber’s corner kick was whipped in deep where M’Bolhi’s poor positioning left a huge pocket for Englishman Dom Dwyer to nod the ball into to find his first of the season.
It wasn’t just the Union goalie who struggled, despite this being the highest scoring game of the Union’s season so far, it was filled with scrappy play and scrambles with performances by both sides left a lot to be desired. The Union had an offside goal by Aristeguieta and then just minutes before their lead crumbled..has a chance to put the nail in the coffin and end the winless run.
Fernando Aristeguieta nearly beat Roger Espinoza in a race only to collapse before he won, Sebastien Le Toux looked guaranteed to finish the food on the plate, until his curled shot ricocheted off of the post. The ball bounced to Michael Lahoud who had an open net and the chance of three points on his shoulders..it was almost destined to go in..but the side footed shot sailed into the sands in a moment of desperation.
It was simply heartbreaking for fans to watch. The football being played seemed like it was being conducted by a madman who had threatened his players with a firing if they didn’t win. It was panicky, frantic and whilst entertaining sometimes simply aggravating. Obviously a lot of this will fall to depth issues and chemistry problems. The Union have struggled in recent weeks with injuries and bans and are still a long way from being at full strength.
However, they need to do something special..and do it quick as they return to conference play on Saturday to host new kids on the block NYCFC. Another game like that will surely see them undergo a humiliating defeat. Something has to be done, whether it’s a change in formation or even moving players into a new position..anything to give the team a spark.
