NYCFC came to town on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union were without influential midfielder Roland Alberg through suspension, and in his place, Swiss international Tranquillo Barnetta received his first start of the season. Barnetta has been a crucial player this year in his numerous substitute appearances, including a last minute free-kick to lift the Union over Orlando City.
Chris Pontius recorded the games first shot in the 2nd minute after creating space for himself 8 yards out. His shot ended in the mid-drift of NYC keeper Josh Saunders in a rather soft left footed attempt. Philadelphia pressed high without the ball, and showed patience with the ball in the early goings. Just a minute later however, David Villa found enough space on the dribble to hit a curled effort from 26 yards out. His shot didn’t have enough bend and sailed high and to the right of Blake’s goal.
A set piece in the 7th minute almost resulted in the games first goal. Barnetta’s delivery was sound and Pontius was able to flick the ball across the face of goal. The header was just past the back post and just beyond CJ Sapong’s outstretched foot. The Union continued to be dangerous from set plays. The first corner for the Union found Rosenberry unmarked as he connected a powerful header to the Barnetta corner. Saunders made a diving stop high and to his left to prevent the rookie defender from notching his first goal. NYC wasted no time in getting the ball back downfield. Villa once again saw his curled effort go above the goal, landing on the roof of the net after taking a deflection.
NYCFC almost took advantage up a man while Pontius was receiving attention for a cut on his face. David Villa was picked out on a low cross by Steven Mendoza and his shot from 15 yards rattled the cross bar.
The Philadelphia Union grabbed the first goal of the night just seconds later thanks to Chris Pontius, who had just came back on the field the laceration on his face was dealt with. Tranquillo Barnetta picked up a loose ball in the NYC box after a cross by Sebastian Le Toux. A NYCFC defender knicked the ball intended for Sapong, which fell nicely for Barnetta. The Swiss rolled a peach of a ball in front of Saunders’s goalmouth. Pontius came crashing in and rolled the ball into the back of the net, under the sidelong Saunders.
Pontius almost struck again in the 30th minute after running down a through ball and taking the ball around the keeper. Saunders was quick enough to get back to his feet and the New York keeper grabbed Pontius’s shot from a tough angle fairly easily.
Villa once again found space in front of the Philly backline and once again his shot from a distance sailed over the net.
A winding Khiry Shelton run was stopped by a foul by Fabinho near the right touchline, halting the cross field dribble. The proceeding Metarrita freekick from the corner of the area curled just wide of the net and over the oncoming NYC attackers, it what was maybe too close for comfort for Blake as NYCFC once again could not take advantage of their opportunities.
In the 41st minute Sapong scored the second goal for the Union on the day, with a skillful back heel finish. Sapong headed down a lofted cross for Le Toux in a play reminiscent of the Seattle goal. Le Toux’s shot then fell back into the path of Sapong, whose back heel redirected the ball with pace into the far corner.
Philadelphia continued to look dangerous in the air, this time from a corner. A headed pass by Marquez across the net was almost redirected in by Pontius, but he was unable to get enough on it and the ball fell nicely for Saunders. Just a minute later Villa received a pass across field in the Philly box as both teams looked to attack quickly. Both he and Yaro stumbled and fell in the box. Villa then hit a snapshot while on the ground that was headed for the lower left hand corner if not for a diving grab by Blake.
At half the Union had recorded 7 shots, with 4 on goal, while NYC had 8 but only 1 on target, and the Union led 2-0 despite having 40% possession. Curtin used his first sub to replace Fabinho who was on a yellow, with Raymond Gaddis at the start of half time.
Gaddis did well early in the second half when he was defending the wily Khiry Shelton. Shelton had proven a handful in the first half for both Rosenberry and Fabinho. Gaddis did a stand up job taking the NYC winger out of the picture for the remainder of the second half.
NYC proved wasteful once again as Villa failed to convert a great opportunity. A beautifully whipped in cross by Matarrita found the head of Villa who just had to redirect it but sent his header wide. Matarrita was one of the more influential NYC attackers throughout the game. His left-footed delivery from both set pieces and the run of play provided several chances for NYC.
By the 60th minute, however, things had died down a bit with both teams testing the waters in a back and forth midfield battle. Neither team created much in the second half outside of the Villa header. The game dragged on with each goalkeeper playing with their feet more than with their hands, as they seemed more content to keep the ball than play direct.
The Union’s best chance of the half came as Le Toux intercepted a NYC throw-in deep in sky blue territory. He had time to pick his head up and slot the ball but his rushed finish curled around the far post and the outcoming Saunders.
Marquez and Yaro did a fantastic job dealing with veteran David Villa, as well as a fantastic job covering their fullbacks, as Shelton and Mendoza proved extremely quick and difficult to deal with over 90 minutes. On several occasions Yaro used his pace to cover ground and make a crucial stop that most defenders likely wouldn’t have made.
Despite NYC dominating possession, Philadelphia ended up being the more convincing of the two teams. Villa consistently missed the target, while Philadelphia was able to finish clinically. After a subdued second half, the Union came out winners in this early season match up 2-0.
Philadelphia Union
