Sunday afternoon brings along the final home game of the MLS Next Pro regular season for the Philadelphia Union II. Philly will be hosting Atlanta United 2 and hoping that a win from this game reclaims the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings before the Decision Day game comes along.
Marlon LeBlanc’s team is coming off the back of the craziest game I’ve ever covered in over 6 years of sports writing. A win meant that Philly would clinch a playoff spot with 2 games to spare and the mission started perfectly when Markus Anderson opened the scoring inside 10 minutes.
However, NYCFC II scored 3 goals in the space of 15 first-half minutes to put themselves 3-1 up and the game seemed to be over for Philly. That was before Nick Pariano slotted home a penalty right before halftime to cut the deficit down to 1 at the break.
Union II came out flying for the 2nd half and grabbed a goal quickly when Eddy Davis scored his 13th goal of the season after a monumental mistake at the back for the visiting NYCFC II. Union II found themselves tied at 3-3 but it wasn’t long before a brilliant Cavan Sullivan freekick found Frankie Westfield’s head to complete the comeback and win the game 4-3.
With the win, not only did Union II become the 2nd ever team in MLS Next Pro history to secure a playoff spot in all 3 years of the competition, but it also put them just 2 points back on current top spot holders FC Cincinnati. Marlon LeBlanc’s men have the upper hand on paper, with their schedule considered easier to their rivals Cincinnati.
Philly are scheduled to play recently eliminated from playoff hopes Atlanta United in this game and then face a road trip to 8th place Chicago Fire II on Decision Day. While FC Cincinnati II travel on the road this weekend to play 5th place NYCFC II and then host 3rd place Orlando City B on Decision Day.
The visitors for this game, Atlanta United II, were kicked out of any playoff qualifying hopes last week when they faced Crown Legacy and drew 0-0, which also led to them losing the extra-point shootout too. Atlanta United 2 are coming off the back of a narrow defeat at home to Inter Miami II, 1-0.
These two sides have faced eachother this season, all the way back in April, when Marlon LeBlanc’s men traveled to Georgia and cruised to a resounding 5-0 win. Chris Donovan bagged a brace, while Eddy Davis, CJ Olney, and club captain Kyler Tucker also put their names on the scoresheet.
The game is scheduled to be played at Subaru Park, with kickoff commencing at 3pm ET. If you can’t get down to the ground and support the team, the game is being shown live on Apple TV via an active MLS Season Pass subscription.
Image Credit: Philadelphia Union II
