It’s been a tumultuous few months for the Philadelphia Union, but a win over the New England Revolution cemented their first 3 points in well over 100 days. Here are 5 takeaways from a win that featured a little bit of everything for fans across the City.
1) Union Yards Curse is Over
The Union Yards curse is finally over…at least for now. 109 days since Union’s last win at Subaru Park against Minnesota United. It just feels good to win again, man. Everyone’s smile is contagious, we can talk about the positive’s of a guys performance without being over-shadowed by a loss, and fans finally got to enjoy $5 (Brand Redacted – no free advertisment) beers at Union yards post match, if that’s your thing. And most importantly, it’s just good to see these players, coaches, and fans happy again!
Oh, and for those of you that don’t know, the video in the tweet below wasn’t actually from Union Yards, I think that’s a video from after the Eagles won the Super Bowl. But I was still super excited about the curse and thought it was funny. Sorry, y’all.
2) Tai Baribo Hot Form Continues
Look, Tai Baribo wasn’t getting minutes in this Union team because he wasn’t doing what Jim Curtin needed him to do in practice, and guys on Jim Curtin’s team don’t play if they don’t perform in practice. Jim Curtin was transparent about that and Tai being the key holder to his own success in Philadelphia a number of times. But since Julian Carranza’s departure and the desperate need for Baribo to play and contribute emerging, Tai has taken his opportunity to the fullest, moving his goal total to 6 in a 6 games after his hat-trick on Wednesday night
3) The Sullivan’s
I could write a whole article on this, and I probably will, but that win was the very first glimpse into what could be one of the most exciting brother duos pro sports has ever seen. Just after his absolutely beautiful goal late in the game on Wednesday, Quinn Sullivan got to watch his 14 year old brother, Cavan, check into the game for the first team as a member of the Philadelphia Union, and play alongside him.
The two did link up for a few passes down the left side, which ended in Cavan making a run into the box and getting his first shot on net under his belt. Cavan’s still just 14 years old and we shouldn’t expect much from him as he’s literally just a kid. But Jim Curtin says they’ve got a real plan with Cavan, they’re not just winging it. So I’m sure we’ll see more awesome moments with these two on the pitch in the future.
4) Reinforcements Incoming…but how strong are they?
Yesterday the Sons of Ben posted a statement in regards to they meeting they had at the request of the ownership group after fan protests against Red Bulls. There weren’t a ton of answers in the statement other than a TBA Town Hall to be held to help answer peoples questions. But the very end of the statement, included was the line “Reinforcements are on the way”.
Shortly after that, I heard from numerous people that the reinforcements mentioned in the SoB’s statement would be in attendance on Wednesday night, which was later corroborated by a couple addition people, but I hadn’t been told who until after the game had finished. Finally, late on Wednesday night, Joe Tansey tweeted that Union reportedly have interest in Sam Adeniran from St Louis City SC, who has been kept out of training the past week due to transfer rumors.
Finally, Tom Bogert added some more validity to the situation by adding that Union are nearing a deal to sign the forward from St Louis.
Nothing’s official yet, and I know Union fans will scoff at this signing when the likes of LAFC are signing Olivier Giroud, but replacing what we’ve missed in Corey Burke 2 seasons later feels like a decent first day of the Secondary Transfer Window, if it gets done. But it can’t be the only thing Union get done.
Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union
