Union II survive late drama, win 2-1 against New York behind brace from Pierre

Philadelphia Union II survived some late drama in their clash with New York Red Bulls II in MLS Next Pro competition Sunday night winning 2-1 behind a brace from forward Nelson Pierre.

Union II were down to 10 men by the end of the match but found a way to survive thanks to early goals from Pierre and two late red cards against New York. Pierre bagged his 2nd and 3rd goals of the season off assists from fellow forward Jose Riasco in the 20th minute and defender Juan Castillo in the 38th minute.

Pierre’s first goal was a replica of an earlier transition moment in which Riasco failed to slot a pass to a wide open Pierre in the first 10 minutes of the game. The forward duo would not let the chance slip by them the second time around.

Riasco made an incredible move to cut inside from the left wing which left his man in the dust. Riasco then did well to dribble forward toward goal which created space for Pierre to receive a square ball at his feet. Pierre then calmly took one touch before slotting home a clinical right-footed finish and capped off the solid move with a cartwheel and flip celebration. It was Pierre’s first goal since April 2nd and Riasco’s first assist of the 2023 season.

New York responded well initially after the opening goal with two near chances that resulted in a blocked shot and a missed open header. But Philadelphia quickly regained the upper hand in all areas of the field.

New York turned it over frequently and Philadelphia bombed forward with every chance they had. Union II keeper Andrew Rick was tested, but very infrequently. In the 35th minute, New York nearly had a breakaway chance but Rick was quick to come darting off his line well outside of the box to play sweeper keeper and cleared it away. Three minutes later, Rick made a solid diving save which then sparked Philadelphia’s transition moment and Pierre’s second goal on the night.

Pierre found himself in another 1v1 situation along the left wing and he blew by his man. After steaming by New York’s backline, Pierre once again calmly collected himself before slotting a shot by the oncoming keeper. Pierre’s second goal was assisted neatly by Castillo. Castillo along with several Philadelphia players turned in impressive performances in what resulted in just Philadelphia’s second win of the year.

The second half started with more of the same Philadelphia dominance. New York failed to register a shot until the 58th minute and that came from 30 yards outside of the box, barely testing Rick for a save. New York’s next shot occurred in the 67th minute, another shot outside the box.

The match flipped on its head in the 77th minute when Union II defender Francis Westfield fouled Ricardo Gorday inside the penalty area. Westfield was shown a straight red card for the challenge which denied Gorday a clear goal scoring opportunity – keeper Rick was oncoming to make a save before the foul. Gorday scored on the PK opportunity, sullying Rick and Union II’s chances at a clean sheet.

Considering the run of play leading to the 77th minute red card and 78th minute Red Bulls II goal, the sequence of events stunned Philadelphia. But just 10 minutes later, New York would see a red card of their own.

Juan Esteban Gutierrez was caught flat footed while attempting to prevent Pierre from latching onto the receiving end of a Union II longball. Pierre had a step on Gutierrez which forced Gutierrez to tug at Pierre. Pierre went to ground and the ref made the call and showed the second red card of the night.

Just a few moments later, the chaos continued when New York were just inches away from notching the game-tying goal from Yostin Salinas in the 90th minute of play.

But that also wasn’t the end of the roller coaster ending as New York defender Jayden Reid was shown a red card for dragging Christopher Olney down and denying a goal scoring opportunity in the 92nd minute. 

Finally, a few moments later the final whistle blew and Philadelphia escaped with the 2-1 win. A win is a win, but surely they didn’t need to make it so nerve racking considering how dominant they were for 65+ minutes tonight.

GOALS/ASSISTS
PHI – Nelson Pierre (Riasco) 20’
PHI – Nelson Pierre (Castillo) 39’
RBNY – Ricardo Gorday (PK) 78’

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
RBNY – Ibrahim Kasule (caution) 3’
PHI – Gino Portella (caution) 33’
PHI – Mike Villero (caution) 43’
RBNY – Yostin Salinas (caution) 57’
PHI – Stefan Stojanovic (caution) 72’
PHI – Francis Westfield (ejection) 77’
RBNY – Juan Gutierrez (ejection) 87’
RBNY – Jayden Reid (ejection) 90+3’

LINEUP
Philadelphia Union II: Andrew Rick; Juan Castillo (Boubacar Diallo 86’), Daniel Krueger, Gino Portella, Francis Westfield, Richard Odada, Mike Villero, CJ Olney, David Vazquez (Luke Martelli 86’ ), Nelson Pierre (Anton Sorenson 90+2’), Jose Riasco (Stefan Stojanovic 66’).

Substitutes not used: Brooks Thompson, Pedro Alvarez, Alex Perez, Luciano Sanchez, Anthony Ramirez

New York Red Bulls II: Alan Rutkowski, Jayden Reid, Davi Alexandre (Yostin Salinas 46’), Juan Esteban Gutierrez, Copeland Berkley, Ibrahim Kasule, Henry Wise (Dyllan Sullivan 74’), Erick Ruiz (Aiden Jarvis 65’), Bento Estrela (Ricardo Gorday 61’), Frank Ssebufu (Julian Hall 61’), Oladayo Thomas.

Substitutes not used: Will Meyer, Amos Shapiro-Thompson