On Friday night the Philadelphia Union defeated CF Montreal by a score of 2-0 thanks to a brace from Tai Baribo. The clean sheet win advances Union through to the next round of Leagues Cup where they’ll face off against reigning Supporters Shield winners, FC Cincinnati for a spot in the Quarterfinals.
There’s still a long way to go for Union before we can start talking about the prospect of lifting a trophy, but Friday night’s win is another step towards a glimpse of success during a frustrating season.
Starting XI
Jim Curtin stuck with his 4-4-2 Diamond against Montreal, but a few changes were made to the starting XI due to the return of Jack McGlynn and Nate Harriel from Olympic duty.
GK: Andre Blake
RB: Nate Harriel, CB: Jakob Glesnes, CB: Jack Elliott, LB: Kai Wagner
CDM: Jose Martinez
RCM: Quinn Sullivan, LCM: Leon Flach
CAM: Daniel Gazdag
ST: Tai Baribo, ST: Sam Adeniran
Sam Adeniran got another start up-top next to Tai Baribo, which meant Mikael Uhre started the game on the bench. Nate Harriel came right back into the side at the RB position after his time with the Olympic team, joining Jakob Glesnes, Jack Elliott, Kai Wagner and Andre Blake to make-up Union’s preferred backline. Leon Flach got the start on the left side of the diamond over Jack McGlynn, which pushed Quinn Sullivan to the right, and Ale Bedoya to the bench.
Andre Blake with a big save early
Andre Blake’s best saves are often timely, and I think making a big save to keep Montreal off the board within the first 10 minutes of the game fits into that category. Montreal found themselves on the attack after Jakob Glesnes’ first-touch on a ball played deep into Union’s half evaded him and fell right into the path of a Montreal midfielder.
Montreal strung together a number of passes to progress their way through the middle of the field and into Union’s penalty area, but Bryce Duke’s attempt on net was smothered by an out-rushing Andre Blake, keeping the game at 0-0 in the early goings.
Baribo unlocks Montreal’s low-block
Though Union controlled much of the ball in he first half, amassing 57% of possession and out-shooting Montreal by a total of 8-2, things looked to be heading towards a 0-0 scoreline as half-time approached. Every time Union got the ball in Montreal’s half, the road side set up in a deep 5-3-2 formation which Union really struggled to break down and create goal scoring opportunities from.
But with the last action of the first-half, Kai Wagner received the ball along the left sideline and played a ball behind the Montreal defense for Sam Adeniran. Adeniran’s ball put on net was spilled by Jonathan Sirois, and fell directly to Tai Baribo, who reacted quickly and put the ball in the back of the net with his first touch, giving Union the 1-0 lead, and netting the 8th goal in his last 10 games for Union.
VAR saves Union from Déjà vu
Up a goal late in the game and trying to close things, Union fans were sent into a panic when Olivier Mbaizo was shown a straight Red Card in the 85th minute. Union were also up a goal on June 1st when Montreal last visited Subaru Park, only for Jack Elliott to be shown a straight Red and for Montreal to equalize a minute later.
But on Friday night the soccer Gods were on Union’s side, and the Dave was saved by VAR stepping in to correct the call. The Straight Red would be rescinded, and a yellow card would be presented to Mbaizo in its place.
Baribo sends Union through to the Round of 16
With the game winding down and Montreal throwing the kitchen sink at Union with hopes of finding a last-minute equalizer, the Blue and Gold were able to exploit the space behind Montreal’s backline in order to find a second goal and seal the game.
Jeremey Rafenllo collected the ball in the midfield and played it down the right side of the pitch for Jack McGlynn. McGlynn ran onto the ball with just one defender between him and the goal, and played a ball over to a wide-open Tai Baribo on a silver platter. Baribo one-timed the ball with his right foot, placing it past Jonathan Sirois and into the back of the net, and giving Union a 2 goal lead and punching their ticket to the Leagues Cup Round of 16. Baribo’s brace on Friday night marked his 8th and 9th goal in the past 10 games.
Post Game Reactions
It’s a solid 2-0 win For Union at home, despite one of the lowest attended games I’ve ever witnessed at Subaru Park. When asked about his team’s defensive performance, Jim Curtin gave some insight on what he told his team heading into this game and how it plays into the big picture.
“I told our players that we wanted to win the ball as high up the field as possible and kind of disrupt them. There’s going to be moments where they’re going to break us down, but we can’t get discouraged and we have to trust that we’re going to turn them over and create chances. While it wasn’t a beautiful game by any stretch, it’s an important shutout, and it’s an important win to kind of survive and advance in this competition. That’s 5 pretty solid performances at home where we get results in a row, so it gives everyone a little bit of confidence.”
Jim Curtin on beating Montreal
It was hard to shy away from talking about Tai Baribo on Friday night as he scored another 2 goals for Union, but I asked Jim Curtin about Sam Adeniran getting the start over Mikael Uhre tonight and how he keeps Uhre motivated when he’s not getting starts.
“Competition really motivates people, so I think it’s important to always have a good stable of 3, hopefully 4 strikers pushing each other at all times…They’re going to continue to push each other and I had a good talk with Mikael and he agrees with my assessment, and that was basically that. He hasn’t been involved enough – he’s at his best when he’s touching the ball early in he game and is involved. Now 10, 15 minutes go by and he doesn’t get on the ball, which happened against Cruz Azul – because they’re a great team, don’t get me wrong, they kept possession – buy he just wasn’t involved enough.”
Jim Curtin on Mikael Uhre
Following Jim Curtin’s press conference, I was able to speak to Tai Baribo, who’s been on an absolute tear the past 10 games, and asked him about his support system and who was there to help him during his difficult early days here in Philadelphia.
“I came from Austria and I was scoring a lot of goals so I thought I would start to play and suddenly not, and that’s okay, that’s the coaches decision and that’s okay – maybe it was right, maybe not. And I was waiting for my chance and the whole time I believe in God and in myself, and yes of course in my family. My teammates also, and also the staff and the coach, all the time told me that I train very well, also the assistant coach told me I will get my chance, so I was waiting and I’m very happy they took the chance.”
Tai Baribo on his support system
And lastly, I asked Jim Curtin about Union’s newest signing, Danley Jean Jacques, and how quickly he’ll get integrated with the squad.
“His skillset is one that suits the Philadelphia Union. When you think about the diamond, he can play at the base, as the six by himself, he can play on either side at the eight. He is a real weapon. Look, if you start and play two consecutive years in Ligue 1 (France), you can play. His work rate will fit this city. Fans are really going to like him, and he’s now getting up to speed…He’s a sweet kid, quiet, shy, which I like, but on the field, the beauty of this game is you can be a totally different person. You can be the nicest guy off the field, and you can be a…bad word on the field, and that’s the beauty of the game”.
Jim Curtin on Tai Baribo
Looking Forward
Union’s will now move on to the Leagues Cup Round 16 where they’ll travel to Ohio to face off agains FC Cincinnati, a team Union have become well acquainted with over the last few season. Though not official yet, the game is looking to be Tuesday August 13th, which potentially means Union’s Town Hall will have to be rescheduled. To stay up to date on the next game, all things leading up to it, and the Town Hall meeting, stay tuned for coverage from Philly Sports Network’s Union team.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
