Despite conceding late goal, Union still control Champions League fate

It’s a draw that felt like a loss. The Union conceded a stoppage-time goal in the first leg semifinal of the Concacaf Champions league that spoiled an otherwise strong performance by a team still searching for its footing in league play this season. With the 1-1 score heading to LA next Tuesday night for the second leg, the away goal gives LA the advantage of advancing with a 0-0 draw. But fear not because the Union are still in the same place they needed to be in order to advance to their first-ever Concacaf Champions League Final.

“The way this competition is structured, away goals are massive,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said after the game. Though possession and shots remained even, the Union held an advantage on quality chances and even held LA’s formidable front three of Carlos Vela, Denis Bouanga, and Kwadwo Opoku from creating. Jakob Glesnes had a strong game, including a key block late in the first half, and Olivier Mbaizo played stellar going head-to-head with Bouanga, the early season favorite for MLS Player of the Year whose best chance came in the 66^th minute off a nicked cross that forced Andre Blake into a sprawling save.

The Union exposed a poor LAFC strategy, which allowed the hosts to push down the wings and find time to create several good combinations between Daniel Gazdag, Julian Carranza, and Mikael Uhre. In a rare concession of possession, LAFC let the Union hold the ball and control the pace of the game, something the Union don’t particularly want to do, and instead gave the Union front three more time to find their rhythm. “Philly did a great job of putting the game on their terms,” Cherundolo added, “they had the better of the chances, so we’re ecstatic with the result.”

Gazdag and Carranza missed on a few passes that could have led to excellent scoring opportunities, but the Union were one touch away from burying their chances and claiming the contest outright. Uhre had the best look of the game six minutes from the first half when he ran onto a long ball over the top. Two touches, and he was free to goal, only stopped by a rising shot that hit John McCarthy in the chest.

Though LAFC holds a marginal advantage, the Union gained much more in terms of confidence. LA had been rolling through the early parts of the MLS season and the CCL. With convincing wins over New England, Dallas, and Austin, a road draw at Seattle, and a dramatic win against rival LA Galaxy, the visitors wasted no time returning to championship form. Meanwhile, the Union’s season began with inconsistent efforts. Only lately have they shown signs of regaining their form, including several strong performances in CCL and a 4-2 thumping of Toronto on Saturday, which propelled them into this key battle against their greatest adversary to date.

“When you concede late it always feels devastating,” Union coach Jim Curtin said after the game. “The challenge now is to go their place. We have to score. That’s the reality of the situation. We have to win the game, which is hard but not impossible.” The Union haven’t won in LA, but technically they haven’t lost lately either, and each of their last three meetings at BMO Stadium was a high-scoring affair. They scored three goals in the 3-3 MLS Cup Final loss that ended in penalties, and earlier last season, the two sides drew 2-2 in a game in which the Union led twice. The contest in early 2020 finished 3-3, which feels like forever ago, but included four of the Union’s current starting XI, while LAFC have retained two.

Going to LA in search of goals is nothing new for Curtin’s team. “It doesn’t change our approach entirely because again we would have went there with the mindset that we want to get a goal,” he said. “We have to approach it aggressive. That’s when our team is at its best anyway.”

The Union received another strong game from Daniel Gazdag, who scored an 86^th minute penalty to give the hosts the lead, his sixth goal of the season (3 MLS, 3 CCL) from the spot. And while scoring penalties may not appear like a big deal on the surface, it’s huge for a player who hasn’t forgotten his last miss. “It was really important for me personally after the final last year,” he said after the game. “It was unlucky that I missed, so it was an important PK for me and for the team as well.”

Gazdag often found the ball in dangerous spaces and almost scored the opener in the 58^th minute when he finished off a McCarthy rebound that was called back because of his marginal offside position. Carranza had a great opportunity in the game’s early minutes when his sitter smacked the post, which was also ruled offside, but from the onset the Union took it to the visitors. “I think our plan was working from the first minute,” Gazdag said. “We played the game very well. It’s how the game is, one mistake at the end, and we tie the game.”

With the upcoming game in LA, one of the league’s best environments, Gazdag, the current MLS leader in assists with 7, is not bothered by the late goal and the task of going on the road needing to score. “We played good games against them,” he said. “We can score against them. Even today, we showed that we can outplay them. So we’re not afraid at all. We can still do it.”

Though both teams will have the weekend off to prepare for the second leg Tuesday night at BMO Stadium, the layoff may benefit the Union more as they’ve traditionally been a better team on full rest. More importantly, the building confidence that resulted from a strong performance against the league’s best could prove to be the difference in the end that gets them to the next level of international soccer.