Philadelphia Union 0- Orlando City SC 2
By: Mike Serevido (Note this report comes courtesy of our friends at The Philly Soccer Page. You can check out their original report here).
Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller were on target as Orlando City SC rolled out as 2-0 easy winners over a listless Philadelphia Union squad Friday.
Dwyer tallied in the 38th minute after a clever pass from Sacha Kljestan sprung the striker behind the Union backline. Mueller doubled the visitors’ advantage just before the half, pouncing on a fortunate bounce and sliding a shot past Andre Blake.
Jim Curtin made no changes to the team that drew with San Jose last Saturday.
Orlando had the first chance of the game in the 10th minute. After the Union failed to clear their lines completely after an Orlando corner, Yoshimar Yotun crossed a ball from the right side that Stefano Pinho met at the penalty spot. The shot beat Andre Blake, but Jack Elliott was on hand to save off the line and clear.
The Union had a chance of their own in the 12th minute. David Accam got loose on the left side and squared a ball toward C.J. Sapong, but the striker couldn’t get his feet right and fanned on the shot, which rolled through to Fafa Picualt. The winger scuffed his shot, and it rolled wide of goal.
Accam was on the attack again down the right side in the 17th minute. The speedy winger drove into the box with the ball after a 40 yard run, drifting past two defenders before firing a low shot toward Joe Bendik’s near post that the goalkeeper did well to push away.
Accam would have another chance to open the scoring in the 26th minute. Sapong did well to hold the ball up 30 yards from goal before springing Accam with a good pass through the channel down the left. The winger’s first touch took him a little bit wide, and his shot from eight yards flew into the side netting at the near post.
Orlando took the lead in the 38th minute through Dom Dwyer. Sacha Kljestan popped a ball over the Union backline as Dwyer tried to hold his run and beat the offside trap. The striker took a touch to control the ball and finished smoothly off the left post past Blake. It was Dwyer’s fourth goal in three games, giving him one more than the entire Union roster.
Orlando doubled their lead in the 45th minute. Chris Mueller drove at the Union backline with the ball, drifting past Matt Real, but after Jack Elliott stepped up to thwart the attack, his attempted clearance hit Real and fell into the path of Mueller, who made no mistake firing past Blake from 16 yards out.
Picault had a good chance to pull a goal back for the Union in the 55th minute. Dockal released the winger down the right side with a well-weighted pass, but Picault could not beat the onrushing Bendik, who did well to save from close range.
Ilsinho and Jay Simpson were introduced for Picault and Accam respectively as Philadelphia looked for a way back into the match, but neither found a way to influence the match.
The announced attendance was 16,043 but again the stadium looked like it had under 10,000 people. Philadelphia is next in action when they travel to Dallas next Saturday (8 p.m.)
Three Points
- Lack of attack. The Union have three goals in five games, with only one of the goals coming against 11 men. Even with the chances created in the last two matches, the lack of scoring is a clear problem.
- Young defense. The young Union backline looked like a young backline tonight. Keegan Rosenberry and Matt Real both looked poor on the wings and Jack Elliott/Mark McKenzie/Auston Trusty weren’t at their strongest either.
- Poor Start. Most people said the Union would have to have a strong start to the season to be competitive in the Eastern Conference. With only one win in their first five and only one win in four home matches, the season might be slipping away, and it’s not even May.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union
Andre Blake, Keegan Rosenberry, Jack Elliott (Mark McKenzie 52′), Auston Trusty, Matt Real, Haris Medunjanin, Alejandro Bedoya, Borek Dockal, Fafa Picualt (Ilsinho 60′), David Accam (Jay Simpson 76′), C.J. Sapong
Unused Subs: John McCarthy, Anthony Fontana, Warren Creavalle, Ray Gaddis
Orlando City FC
Joe Bendik, Amro Tarek, Lamine Sane, RJ Allen (Cristian Higuita 29′), Mohamed El-Munir, Will Johnson, Stefano Pinho (Justin Meram 64′), Yoshimar Yotun, Chris Mueller (Josue Colman 89′), Sacha Kljestan, Dominic Dwyer
Unused Subs: Oriol Rosell, Donny Toia, Dillon Powers, Earl Edwards Jr.
Scoring summary
ORL: Dom Dwyer — 38′ (Sacha Kljestan)
ORL: Chris Mueller — 45′
Disciplinary summary
ORL: Joe Bendik — 63′ (time wasting)
PHI: Matt Real — 67′ (unsporting behavior)
ORL: Dom Dwyer — 75′ (simulation)
ORL: Mohammed El-Munir — 79′ (unsporting behavior)
ORL: Yoshimar Yotun — 79′ (dissent)
PHI: Keegan Rosenberry — 81′ (dissent)
| Philadelphia Union | Orlando City SC | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Shots | 8 |
| 6 | Shots on Target | 3 |
| 6 | Shots off Target | 3 |
| 8 | Blocked Shots | 2 |
| 14 | Corner Kicks | 3 |
| 31 | Crosses | 9 |
| 3 | Offsides | 6 |
| 16 | Fouls | 11 |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 4 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 471 | Total Passes | 399 |
| 80% | Passing Accuracy | 79% |
| 55.2% | Possession | 44.8% |
| 50 | Duels Won | 63 |
| 44% | Duels Won % | 56% |
| 10 | Tackles Won | 14 |
| 0 | Saves | 6 |
| 17 | Clearances | 26 |
Philadelphia Union
