Philadelphia Union take on familiar foe in first preseason scrimmage

The Philadelphia Union have their first preseason scrimmage today in Clearwater Florida. Philly faces a familiar foe in the New York Red Bulls. The scrimmage will be played today (January 30th) at 3:00 p.m. ET.

First preseason scrimmage:

This first preseason scrimmage will give many the chances to show their worth. There are 15 unsigned Philadelphia Union Academy players and Bethlehem Steel FC players training with the first team in Florida. These youngsters will likely will get playing time in preseason scrimmages to show their stuff. This match, however may feature a lot for the first team players and Steel FC players as they look to get their first competitive game under their belts in 2019. The Academy kids may see more of the field this weekend when the Union take on The University of South Florida.

This scrimmage will likely be longer than 90 minutes. Scrimmage’s like this in the past have wither been three 30 minute periods. Since both squads are still not up to full speed it’s likely the scrimmage will be played in a fashion similar to this.

Will this scrimmage give us the first glimpse at Ernst Tanner’s new style?

A glimpse at the new look Union?

Tanner and the Union coaching staff have gone on about implementing a new sort of style for the Union in 2019. Will the scrimmage be the first look at this? Yes it will. This is the first opportunity the Union have to go at another team with their newly implemented tactics. With that we should see a look at who the coaches think are higher up on the depth chart as well.

Baring Auston Trusty and Mark McKenzie, who are with the US Men’s National Team, the Union coaches have evaluated the team enough to know who they think are going to be starters. I expect the “starters” to play for around 30 minutes together to try out this new system. The rest of the scrimmage will be combinations of players fighting for first team minutes or a spot on the first team.

The question is, will this unveiling of Ernst Tanner ‘s Philadelphia Union style of play be view-able for fans?

Stream-able or closed door?

As of right now, there has been no announcement that this match will be streamed for fans to tune in. Neither the Union, nor the Red Bull, have commented on this. It looks like this will be a closed door affair.

This is common for preseason scrimmages, but if I were the Union I would want the die-hard fans to get a first look at how the 2019 Union will play against one of their MLS “rivals.” Should the game not be streamed, there should be updates on the scrimmage on twitter, and maybe even some video of highlights posted by the Union. I guess that’s better than nothing.

The Union get their first taste of game action today. It will no doubt be a valuable for the coaching staff and Ernst Tanner to see how the squad plays through the new playing style. Come back to Philly Sports Network later for a recap of the match!