A crowd gathered for a 1:05 pitch between Philadelphia and New York at Yankee Stadium. No, not for a baseball game, for soccer! It was a rematch of the Eastern Conference Final, a match that saw the Union missing key starters and an NYCFC team on its way to winning the 2021 MLS Cup. This week four matchup saw the Union get their first-ever win at Yankee Stadium.
First-ever win at Yankee Stadium
To start the game, the Union was once again without DP striker Mikael Uhre. He was left out of the squad due to a quad injury, but that didn’t stop the Union from playing what is their best game of this early season.
NYCFC came into the match off of a tough result in CONCACAF Champions League (CCL;) losing 4-2 to Guatemalan side Comunicaciones FC. New York City played their starter then and did so against the Union as well. The field size at Yankee Stadium is always discussed as the pitch is only about 70 yards wide, making things much more narrow. In years past it doomed the Union; but in 2022, things were different.
1st Half
The Union took a few minutes to get adjusted to the small field at Yankee Stadium. Talles Magno almost opened the scoring in the first five minutes, but homegrown right back Nate Harriel, and goalkeeper Andre Blake did well to stifle the chance. From then until the halftime whistle, the match was all Union.
In the 11th minute, the Union won a free-kick that was executed to perfection. Kai Wagner played a ball into the box, Julian Carranza got a foot to it to pass it to Ale Bedoya who smashed a shot far post to give the Union the lead. It was a sign of things to come.
It was clear there was no love lost between both teams as there were 14 fouls with two yellow cards in the first half. There was almost a red card as well in around the half-hour mark. A goal kick from NYCFC made its way all the way up to the Union’s box. Santiago Rodriguez looked to take the ball down and then got taken down in the box by the Union’s Jack Elliot. Elliot was shown a red card from referee Ted Unkel, but the play was reviewed and showed that Rodriguez controlled the ball with his arm, and therefore a handball was called before Elliot’s foul. Not three minutes later, the Union found a second goal!
As the Union continued to frustrate NYCFC, they found good ways to hit on the counter-attack. A perfect ball was played down the right-wing to Nate Harriel who made a great run to get into an attacking position. He then hit a perfect first-time cross to the far post that found Daniel Gazdag who just had to let the ball hit his foot for a goal!
The Union were up 2-0 and killed off the rest of the clock in the first half. They almost added a third on the final kick of the half but Santos was ruled offside after putting the ball in the net. It was a perfect first-half performance, and the second was proved to be just as good, but in different ways.
2nd Half
In the first half, the Union only had 29% of possession but created 11 chances to score. In the second half, it was clear that Philly’s style was the same as the first. The Union was content to let NYCFC have the ball and defend as a unit and hit on the counter-attack. New York City came out swinging for the fences to start the second half, but couldn’t find the quality needed to get a goal past the Union.
Nate Harriel saved the best effort that NYCFC had, and then the Union went to work frustrating NYCFC. At one point a brawl almost broke out between the two rivals, but that didn’t spark a New York City comeback. Both teams exchanged chances in the final 25 minutes, but Philly’s defense was too much to overcome!
Takeaways
The Union won 2-0 over NYCFC to clinch their first-ever win at Yankee Stadium. The match was a complete one from Philly, and there are some major takeaways for fans after this performance.
- Nate the Great
Nate Harriel is going to be the starter at right back for 2022. He’s started the last three games and all three have been wins. He was man of the match for me. The way he shut down NYCFC attackers in 1v1 situations, and got into the attack nothcing his first assist of the year are jus some of the great things we can see from this young star. - Goal scorers staying hot
Bedoya and Gazdag scored both goals in this match. Bedoya has two no the season, Gazdag has three on the season. Add that to Cory Burke who has scored the two games he’s started, and the Union’s goal scorers are all hot in 2022. This will be bolstered when Uhre is healthy as well. - The Philly frustrators
The Union got their second straight clean sheet, and made the reigning MLS Cup Champions very frustrated in this match. They limmited New York City’s chances and took their frint three out of the match. All three of NYCFC’s attacking threats received yellow cards. This Union defense and style of play looks better than ever after four weeks of the 2022 season!
The Union now has a week off, thanks to the FIFA international window. They’ll next take the field at home against expansion side Charlotte FC on Saturday, April 2.
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Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
