Now we can say the ‘M Word’: Union score late winner to advance to Leagues Cup semi

All week, the sentiment in the Philadelphia Union camp was “don’t acknowledge the elephant in the room.” However, watching the Leagues Cup quarterfinal match Friday night against Queretaro FC, it seemed like the potential of sharing the pitch with Lionel Messi in the next round may have been in the back of every Union player’s mind. And for large parts of the match, it seemed like the matchup may never even happen. 

But early on, it looked like the Union were focused on just one thing: advancing. In the 10th minute, after a brief spell of possession, Jack McGlynn picked up the ball, connected with Jesus Bueno and Julian Carranza, got the ball back and then drove by a Queretaro defender before playing a well-weighted ball into the path of Bueno, whose awkward, off-balanced effort found the back of the net to put the Union in front 1-0. 

However, the Union seemed to fall into a bit of a lull and put their play into cruise control. Mustering just two other shots for the remainder of the first half, the boys from Chester left the door open for Queretaro to grow back into the match. And considering the fact that Queretaro was coming off two performances in Leagues Cup in which they scraped and clawed a pair of sides that outshot them (and frankly outplayed them) in Pumas UNAM and New England Revolution, letting them back into the match was a potentially frightening proposition. And sure enough, in the 65th minute, on a cross delivered from the right flank, Queretaro’s target man Angel Sepulveda swung his left boot and volleyed the ball past Andre Blake to level the match at 1-1. 

What ensued was, well, nothing short of chaotic. For starters, Jim Curtin made a number of substitutions, bringing on a host of players in Nathan Harriel, Chris Donovan, Quinn Sullivan, Leon Flach and Joaquin Torres. And the changes seemed to give the Union a boost, as they began to regain control of the match. In particular, Torres found a great deal of joy sneaking into half-spaces between the lines and turning to drive at the Queretaro backline. On several instances, he drew fouls in dangerous areas as the bookings for Queretaro seemed to pile up. 

However, the Union struggled to create genuine chances and as the clock dwindled, and penalty kicks began to seem more and more inevitable, the Union received a lifeline from the assistant referee board as he signaled for 10 (!) minutes of added time. 

This was especially important in the 96th minute, when Torres yet again drove at the Queretaro backline and drew a foul on the edge of the penalty area. The foul was on Queretaro center back Omar Israel Mendoza, who was already on a yellow card. His clumsy tackle resulted in his second booking of the evening and he was sent off. Time was sparse now, and with just four of the additional 10 minutes remaining, a match-winner still seemed elusive. 

But just when it seemed like the Union were going to be thwarted and forced into the Roulette-like crapshoot that is a penalty shootout, their fortunes changed. In the 100th minute, Torres sprung Kai Wagner into a patch of space out on the left wing, and Kai did what Kai does and sent a glorious ball directly into the path of Donovan, who applied the finishing touches to put the Union back into the lead. 

The Drexel alum wheeled away in celebration and Union fans everywhere began to dream of a date with a certain diminutive Argentinian maestro. About 30 seconds after the ball went back into play, the referee blew the final whistle to make things official. 

Now, the stage is set. Tuesday night, the Union will play Messi and his surging Inter Miami squad at Subaru Park for a chance to secure a place in the Leagues Cup final. This should be fun.