With just a few games left and still battling for a playoff spot, every game for the rest of the 2024 season is a big one for the Philadelphia Union, which makes Sunday night’s 4-0 win against DC United at Subaru Park a big result.
A Brace from Daniel Gazdag, a fabulous performance from Quinn Sullivan, and a clean sheet from Andre Blake gives Union 3 big points and lifts them back above the playoff line with 4 games to go. Jim Curtin’s Union might just be getting hot at just the right time – but there’s still work to be done.
Starting XI
After Union’s midweek win up in the Bronx on Wednesday, Curtin made a few changes to the starting XI that faced DC United on Sunday night.
Andre Blake and Jakob Glesnes both returned to the lineup against DC, pushing Nate Harriel from CB to Right Back and Olivier Mbaizo to the bench alongside Andrew Rick, who had quite the outing against NYCFC midweek. Quinn Sullivan also came back into the lineup for Ale Bedoya in the midfield.
4-4-2 Diamond
GK: Andre Blake
RB: Nate Harriel, CB: Jakob Glesnes, CB: Jack Elliott, LB: Kai Wagner
CDM: Leon Flach
RCM: Quinn Sullivan, LCM: Jack McGlynn
CAM: Daniel Gazdag
ST: Mikael Uhre, ST: Tai Baribo
Uhre puts Union up 1-0
13th minutes into the game, Mikael Uhre gave Union a 1-0 lead when he finished off a pass sent through the 6-yard box by Quinn Sullivan after a nice move to infiltrate DC’s defense in the penalty area.
Uhre’s opener was his 10th goal of the MLS season, and marks goals in 4 consecutive games for Union’s Striker. The assist and nice run, which created the tap-in for Uhre, goes to Quinn Sullivan – his 9th of the campaign.
Gazdag Doubles Union’s Lead 3 Minutes Later
Just 3 minutes after Mikael Uhre opened the scoring at Subaru Park, Daniel Gazdag pounced on a botched clearance in DC’s penalty area and fired a shot past a diving Alex Bono, giving Union an early 2-0 lead at home.
Gazdag’s goal marked the 16th tally in MLS play for the Hungarian, putting him just 3 behind DC United’s Christian Benteke in the Golden Boot race with 4 games to go. Gazdag scored 22 in 2022, just 1 goal short of Golden Boot winner, Hany Mukhtar.
Baribo Buries DC with Union’s 3rd
Less than 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Union’s Tai Baribo made it 3-0 with a wide-open header at the back post. Quinn Sullivan did well along the right side to evade a duo of DC defenders, and whipped a perfect ball across the penalty area for Tai Baribo to head into an open goal.
Baribo’s goal is his 9th of the MLS season, and his 16th goal in 18 games across all competitions. Quinn Sullivan is credited with his 2nd assist of the game, and his 10th of the year.
Gazdag Enters Golden Boot Race with Brace
Already up 3-0 and on their way to victory at home, Union added insult to injury in the 70th minute when they forced DC into a turnover in their own half. Tai Baribo collected the loose ball, and laid it off to an open Daniel Gazdag, who buried the opportunity.
Gazdag’s brace brings him up to 17 goals scored on the MLS season, now just 2 behind Christian Benteke in Major League Soccer’s Golden Boot race. The assists came courtesy of Tai Baribo, his 2nd assist of the campaign.
Curtin’s Quotes
Jim Curtin was happy with his team’s performance against DC on Sunday night, and thinks they’re building enough confidence to beat anyone in the league if they can fight their way into a playoff spot.
“I think this team has a level that they can go to to get us into the playoffs, but again, I think we have a team that’s good enough to beat anybody. I continue to tell them, it’s not how you start the season, people remember how you finish, and that’s kind of been our mindset. We dug ourselves in too deep of a hole, didn’t look like ourselves in the beginning of the year, but the guys continuing to fight and get their way out of it. I thought it was a good performance tonight.”
For the 2nd game in a row, Union’s front 3 of Mikael Uhre, Tai Baribo, and Daniel Gazdag each got on the scoresheet. 7 goals for the trio between DC United and NYCFC has this Union team looking more dangerous than they have in quite some time, and Curtin knows much of their success is dependent on the production level of those 3 guys specifically.
“With the front 3 (Uhre, Baribo, Gazdag) – and sometimes soccer is very simple – when they’re very close together, we score goals. You can see in the film, New York City was a great example, all 3 of those guys could almost hold hands when the ball hit the back of the net in every instance. That’s something that we work on with them, we preach to them. We’re going to go as far as those guys go. They can finish plays off, they’re very dangerous.”
What’s Next?
The Union have another important game coming up on Saturday night, with Atlanta United coming to Subaru Park for a clash that’ll have big implications on the 2024 MLS Cup Playoff picture. Jim Curtin remains confident that his team can hold their own against anyone in the post-season, but with 4 games left and desperately holding on to the last playoff spot, every point is crucial for Union down the final stretch of the season.
Scoring Summary
Union Goals:
13th – Mikael Uhre (10th), assisted by Quinn Sullivan (9th)
16th – Daniel Gazdag (16th), unassisted
51st – Tai Baribo (9th), assisted by Quinn Sullivan (10th)
69th – Daniel Gazdag (17th), assisted by Tai Baribo (2nd)DC United Goals:
N/A
Mandatory Credit: Caean Couto-Imagn Images
