Late blast from Jose Martinez saves Union from defeat against Orlando City SC

The Philadelphia Union managed to escape central Florida with a point against Orlando City SC thanks to Jose Martinez’s first MLS goal in the 90th minute from distance which secured a 2-2 draw away from home.

Philadelphia may not have deserved a point based on their play for the majority of the match. But they remained locked in throughout the second half with a late push. In a wild sequence of events late in the second half, Philadelphia flipped the script.

In a match where both teams were without key starters, Philadelphia struggled to find solid footing throughout. Union Head Coach Jim Curtin decided to roll out the normal diamond midfield formation in place of the 3-back system due to Damion Lowe being away on international duty with Jamaica. Joe Bendik earned a start in goal due to Andre Blake joining his fellow countryman Lowe with Jamaica. And Joaquin Torres earned a spot in the number 10 role in place of Daniel Gazdag who is away on international duty with Hungary.

Hindsight being 20/20, Curtin may want to have thought through that decision a bit more. In place of Torres in the starting lineup, Philadelphia could’ve benefited from a more defensive approach. And the lack of defense was a glaring issue in the first half.

Orlando found success flooding Philadelphia’s backline by playing with multiple attacking midfielders. More attacking midfielders just in front of Philadelphia’s center backs created too much pressure for Martinez to manage on his own. Orlando capitalized early with a 13th minute goal from Duncan McGuire.

McGuire was the recipient of a beautiful move by Orlando which left Bendik a bit flat footed and slow to react from a shot at close range. Mauricio Pereya played a forward pass to Martin Ojeda who flicked a wonderfully skilled one touch pass to McGuire who then beat Jakob Glesnes before ripping the shot for a goal.

Philadelphia tried to find a goal of their own in the 27th minute, but a header from Jack Elliott sailed just over the bar following a beautiful cross from Leon Flach into the box after a recycled corner kick attempt. Philadelphia also managed to earn five corner kicks through the first 33 minutes of the game, however no goals resulted from those efforts.

The second half started with a Philadelphia chance in the 52nd minute when Julian Carranza had a chance from the center of the box. Union fans are used to seeing Carranza bury his chances from inside the box, however Orlando City SC back up keeper Mason Stajduhar was up to the task and made the save.

Stajduhar’s save served as a mini momentum boost for Orlando and they doubled their lead just two minutes later with a fluky goal from outside the box. Upon review, the shot attempt from Ojeda from outside the box deflected off the boot of McGuire before finding the far post netting beyond an outstretched Bendik. Bendik may want to have that one back, he was slow to react despite the deflection not altering the flight of the shot in a drastic way.

Following the 54th minute goal from Orlando, Philadelphia could’ve packed it in and gave up. But the tides turned slightly when Philadelphia became the recipient of their own fluky goal thanks to Jack McGlynn.

McGlynn attempted to feather a ball in toward the six-yard box where forward Mikael Uhre occupied two Orlando defenders. McGlynn’s cross attempt landed harmlessly beyond Uhre which froze Stajduhar just enough for the ball to bounce into the net making it 2-1.

Following the goal, Curtin decided to swap Torres for Alejandro Bedoya – a sub that turned out to be a very positive change. Bedoya and the goal by McGlynn seemed to inject a second wind into Philadelphia’s sails.

Both teams traded chances following McGlynn’s goal, but neither managed to find a goal. Curtin then made two more subs in the 74th minute when he brought on Quinn Sullivan and Nate Harriel in place of Olivier Mbaizo and Flach, both of which were sitting on yellow cards.

Sullivan and Harriel brought enough energy to continue tilting the field in Philadelphia’s favor to try and salvage a point. However, it would take a goal of the year moment from Martinez to lift Philadelphia to a 2-2 draw.

Just 3 minutes after Orlando appeared to score a dagger third goal which was ultimately reversed due to a foul by second half substitute Ercan Kara, Philadelphia banged home the equalizer.

A cross attempt by Philadelphia was weakly cleared out of the box. The ball landed perfectly for Martinez about 15-20 yards outside of the box. Martinez, sensing a perfect opportunity to blast a shot, did not hesitate at all and ripped a right footed shot off the volley into the back of the net.

His first career MLS goal could not have come at a better time.

OMG 😱

We're all Mikael Uhre after watching this Jose Martinez golazo. #DOOP pic.twitter.com/KYW8HVYLLQ

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 22, 2023

Philadelphia managed to squeeze out an important road draw and a point away from home thanks to Martinez’s highlight reel shot, but they were lucky. Curtin will likely want to move on quickly from this performance, especially given the fact that they were missing three key starters. But a match like this can also serve to galvanize a team who has quite a lot of soccer left in 2023.

Curtin and the Union will look to continue forward with a home match against Inter Miami Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST in Chester at Subaru Park.