Game Thread: Philadelphia Union 3 vs Club Tijuana 1 Final

Game Updates

90+6 ‘ – That will do it folks. This game had literally everything. What a weird opening match of Leagues Cup play. Hopefully, they are all like this, including a final score of 3-1 for the Union.

84 ‘ – Daniel Gazdag almost has his second goal, but because it wasn’t a penalty the goalkeeper was able to save it.

78 ‘ – Couple of substitutions for the Union late in the match. Damion Lowe comes on from Jakob Glesnes and Matt Real on for Jose Martinez.

77 ‘ – Julian Carranza ALMOST had his hat trick. Has a great run in and chipped it over a sliding goalkeeper, but a goal-line clearance keeps it 3-1. Unfortunate.

70 ‘ – Great team goal from Philadelphia. Julian Carranza is the one to put it in the back of the net, but just truly a team goal. Great ball in by Daniel Gazdag. Julian Carranza passed it along to Jesus Bueno who gave it right back to the Argentine. Probably should have been saved but, hey, the backup keeper was thrown into the fire.

68 ‘ – Yes… we just had a goalkeeper swap due to injury. That’s how crazy this game has been.

62 ‘ – A shot from Mikael Uhre sails into the river end. The commentator says it went halfway to DC, which, no… Somebody get that guy a map.

55 ‘ – Double substitution for the hosts. Olivier Mbaizo comes off for Nathan Harriel, and Quinn Sullivan comes off for Mikael Uhre. Uhre immediately makes an impact, has a darting foul toward the Tijuana box and a foul is called… a red card also comes out? Club Tijuana is now down to NINE men, and I’m honestly not even sure if there was contact there to even warrant a foul. This game has genuinely lost the plot.

54 ‘ – We have reached the point of an MLS vs Liga MX contest where these two teams are just fouling each other for the sake of it.

51 ‘ – ANDRE BLAKE! Blake saves a very badly telegraphed penalty by Gonzalez and keeps the Union in front. They have to figure something out quickly because Andre Blake just absolutely saved them there.

48 ‘ – A bad foul from Olivier Mbaizo will give Tijuana a dangerous free kick from just outside the box. Honestly, that could be inside the box for a penalty… and it is. You have to be joking.

46 ‘ – Bring on the second half! And… Club Tijuana has scored to make it 2-1. Attacking right away Tijuana exploits some poor marking inside the box with a cross and Carlos Gonzalez smashes it past Andre Blake. Let’s go back to the first half, please!

45+5 ‘ – The visitors almost bring one back ahead of the break but Andre Blake is no ordinary goalkeeper. And it’s 2-0 Philadelphia heading into half time!

44′ – Julian Carranza tries his luck from distance after a good bit of play from Daniel Gazdag and Jesus Bueno. Simple save for Rodriguez who has been asked to do everything for Tijuana tonight.

42’ – Some fantastic skill in the box from Carranza to hold onto the ball and rifle in a pass to Quinn Sullivan, but his shot is blocked and cleared. Carranza looks fully confident on the ball tonight.

39 ‘ – Another fantastic cross by Olivier Mbaizo whips into the right side of the Tijuana box and finds the head of Kai Wagner. Unfortunately, he didn’t get quite enough on it and it goes harmlessly into the keeper’s arms.

35 ‘ – Club Tijuana gets a shot from outside of the box, and Alexis Canelo nearly takes a fan’s head off in the river end. Their next chance is much much closer, Andre Blake had to make a usually great save to keep it 2-0.

34 ‘ – AND NOW JOSE MARTINEZ IS IN THE BOOK! Feeling jealous of his opponents getting carded, Martinez earns a yellow for a late tackle. We are going full Concacaf soccer tonight folks!

33 ‘ – Now Club Tijuana’s coach Miguel Herrera just received a yellow card.

26 ‘ – Back-to-back corners for Philadelphia. The first one was headed away, but the second one bounced around the box before landing at the feet of Julian Carranza right in front of the net who smashes it past the goalkeeper. The flag goes up and the goal is disallowed… but that is as close of an offside decision as you can get. VAR checks it, AND IT’S A GOAL! Great job from Carranza to keep playing there and it’s now a 2-0 lead for Philadelphia!

23 ‘ – Somehow this game isn’t 2-0 for Philadelphia. Great cross in the box from Carranza. Rodriguez made MULTIPLE good saves against Bueno and McGlynn. Carranza had a shot blocked and another one hit the post. That was the type of sequence that happens in Fifa that makes you either shake your head and laugh or throw your controller.

21 ‘ – Who else but Gazdag! Daniel Gazdag puts the Union up 1-0 from the penalty spot!

18 ‘ – Penalty Philadelphia! Classic Philadelphia there, causing a turnover and hitting the opponent on the counter. Julian Carranza was clear in on goal and was taken down from behind in the box. Club Tijuana will be down to 10 men with Nicolas Diaz sent off. Miguel Herrera doesn’t like it, but that’s a clear penalty and a clear red card.

12 ‘ – Corner kick for a Union team really starting to find their footing early in this one. Unfortunately, Philadelphia could not get the ball through the Tijuana defenders and the chance fizzles out.

8 ‘ – A shot on goal from Jack McGlynn is saved away by Rodriguez. A good counterattack by Philadelphia there after causing a turnover in the opponent’s half.

4 ‘ – A good chance there by the Union. Some dangerous play off a corner by Philadelphia results in a dangerous shot on goal after the cross. Good save by the keeper but it wouldn’t have mattered anyways. An offside would have negated the entire sequence. Good start so far from Philadelphia looking dangerous already.

1 ‘ – We are off! The Leagues Cup is officially underway for the Union. Whatever your opinion on the competition is, it’s definitely a chance to add a trophy to the Union’s cabinet!

Starting Lineups

Strong lineup for the Union tonight⬇️

Thoughts? https://t.co/1nOsj6L4or

— Philadelphia Soccer Now (@phlsoccernow) July 22, 2023

El XI que debuta esta noche en la @LeaguesCup 🐕❌

🗣️ ¡VENGA PERROS! #RevoluXión | #LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/KoZFmlYC2w

— Xolos 🐕 (@Xolos) July 23, 2023

Injuries/Absences

Philadelphia Union:

How to Watch

Where: Subaru Park, Chester, PA
When: 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, July, 22nd
Streaming: FS1, Apple TV (Free),
English Announcers: Steve Cangialosi, Danny Higginbotham (Apple TV)
Spanish Announcers: Ramses Sandoval, Walter Roque
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic (Dave Leno, Sheanon Williams)
How to listen to home radio broadcast on MLS Season Pass

Officials

REF: Oshane Nation
AR1: Jeremy Hanson
AR2: Jeremy Kieso
4TH: Lukasz Szpala
VAR: Óscar Macías Romo
AVAR: Mario Terrazas Chávez