Philadelphia Union moves on to Leagues Cup quarterfinals with another shootout victory

The Philadelphia Union advanced to the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup, defeating rivals New York Red Bulls 1-1 (4-3) in penalties Tuesday night.

It was a true game of two halves at Subaru Park. The visitors New York dominated early on in the first half. Elias Manoel put the Red Bulls ahead just four minutes into the contest. A bad turnover in midfield leads to a Red Bulls counter-attack. There was some miscommunication and over-aggression by the Union defense, allowing New York to easily carve through on goal. Omir Fernandez off of a nice run into the box found Manoel wide-open in front of the net for an easy opening goal.

New York should have made it 2-0 in the 15th minute. Dante Vanzeir had a clear chance, beat Andre Blake with the shot, but it just went wide. Philadelphia was extremely fortunate not to drop to a two-goal deficit because they could not figure anything out in the first half. They looked completely disconnected playing in a different lineup, unable to link up passes or get into sync as a unit. The three center backs lacked the necessary communication for the system, leaving gaping holes in the back line. The Union would start to liven up toward the end of the half but didn’t seriously trouble their opponents.

The second half was all Philadelphia. New York did their best to hang on for the 1-0 victory, but the Union finally broke through in the 68th minute. Kai Wagner finally found the right ball from the corner, finding a leaping Nathan Harriel to level it up. It is the second headed goal for “Air” Harriel in the Leagues Cup.

The rest of the regulation was your typical Union versus Red Bulls affair. There was a lot of scrappy play, with plenty of fouling and cards given out. Soccer was pretty much thrown out the window, as the two rivals turned the game into a dogfight. The match would end regulation 1-1, heading to settle things in penalties.

Andre Blake set the tone right away, saving the Red Bulls’ first penalty attempt by Lewis Morgan, a player brought on specifically for the shootout. Jack Elliott would give the Union the lead, converting his penalty. Frankie Amaya and Mikael Uhre traded great penalties for their respective clubs, with Daniel Edelman and Jack McGlynn trading misses. Sean Nelis and Julian Carranza both made their penalties, with John Tolkin keeping his club in the game with his penalty make.

It all came down to the right boot of Jesus Bueno. Coming on as a substitute for Leon Flach midway through the match, the Venezuelan midfielder had a chance to send Philadelphia to the next round of the Leagues Cup. Bueno approached with a skip and placed his shot perfectly into the left hand corner beyond the outstretched hands of Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel. The Union advanced 4-3 on penalties.

Philadelphia will once again host Queretaro at Subaru Park on Saturday for the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup. Philadelphia defeated Queretaro 5-1 during group stage play.