Daniel Gazdag PK Leads Union Past New York Red Bulls

On Saturday night, the Philadelphia Union hit the pitch against the New York Red Bulls, looking to rebound from the 3-0 loss to LAFC from earlier in the week. Philly had a streak of 9 unbeaten against the Red Bulls and were looking to make it 10 unbeaten in their first MLS action since the 4-2 win over Toronto FC on April 22nd. Jim Curtin’s side would do just that, as the road club would take the three points with a 1-0 win. A 31st-minute Daniel Gazdag penalty is all that was needed for Philadelphia, as they picked up their second straight win in league play, giving them 14 points in 10 matches.

The Starting XI

Jim Curtin would make a few changes to his usual starting eleven for this match, with Quinn Sullivan, Damion Lowe, and Nathan Harriel taking the spots of Mikael Uhre, Jack Elliott, and Olivier Mbaizo. The Philly manager used his normal formation of a 4-1-2-1-2, and had a starting eleven as follows: Blake, Wagner, Lowe, Glesnes, Harriel, Flach, McGlynn, Bedoya, Gazdag, Carranza, and Sullivan. Another absence that Union fans may have noticed was the absence of Jose Martinez, who has been sidelined for the last two matches with an injury.

Ugly Match by Both Sides

While the Union was able to come away from Red Bull Arena with a 1-0 victory, it was definitely not a good performance by the club. Philadelphia could only produce three shots in the entire match, with one of the shots being the Daniel Gazdag penalty kick which secured the three points. In his post-match press conference, Union manager Jim Curtin talked about how the match was played, saying the following:

“It was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen of the season, but it’s also a testament to the players because they knew that was going to be a night where you have to roll your sleeves up and fight. … I like 1-0 wins, as you guys have heard me say before. It’s an important three points, and we can share this one and celebrate it with the fans.”

Daniel Gazdag Makes History

While the match was not the prettiest for the Union, Daniel Gazdag was able to etch himself into club history with his penalty that he scored. Gazdag became the fastest player in Philly’s history to reach 30 goals for the club, scoring that in a total of 66 matches. The record prior to this was held by former Union striker Kacper Przybylko, who scored 30 games in 73 matches for the club. Congrats to Daniel on making history, and hopefully there will be more goals and more records to break in the future!

With his goal in a 1-0 victory on Matchday 11, @PhilaUnion midfielder Dániel Gazdag scored his 30th career goal in his 66th game with the club, reaching the 30-goal milestone faster than any player in team history. The previous record was held by Kacper Przybylko (73 games). pic.twitter.com/TvWtLDhlMN
— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) May 7, 2023

Next Action for the Union

Philly will return to action on Tuesday night when they face off against Minnesota United in the US Open Cup. This is the first match for the Union in the Open Cup for the year, and they will be looking to move onto the Round of 16. Last year, Philadelphia fell to eventual champions Orlando City in the Round of 32 by a score of 2-1.

All in all, while the match against the Red Bulls was not the best performance for Philadelphia, three points away against a rival is definitely something that Union supporters should not be complaining about. The club rebounded well from the LAFC match during the week and was able to put on a decent enough display against the Red Bulls to etch out a 1-0 victory.