Philadelphia eliminated by last minute Cincinnati goal

The Philadelphia Union’s season has come to an end. On the road against the Supporters’ Shield winners FC Cincinnati, the Union fell 1-0 on a controversial late goal that looked offside but ended their season in heartbreaking fashion when it wasn’t called.

The Union had chances in this match to take the lead, despite a lackluster start on offense. The Union finished the first half with only one shot on goal, though they did have some chances. Jack McGlynn played a ball to Mikael Uhre in the box on a bit of a short hop in the 39th minute, but the ball would not find the back of the net. Cincinnati, meanwhile had a few chances on goal, finishing the first half with three shots on target. They defended well, even without their star defender Matt Miazga.

The Union’s best chance of the night to that point came in the 48th minute. Julian Carranza had a nice run down the side but hit the side netting. The Union didn’t have many clear-cut chances to score for most of the half. Cincinnati had pretty much everything defended, blocking off any potential shots around the block. Nathan Harriel had the best chance of the night in the 86th minute. From just outside of the right-hand of the box, Alejandro Bedoya played in a pass to Harriel at the top of the box. The defender fired a shot to the left of the goaltender Celentano but it was saved.

From there everybody thought that this game was destined for overtime. Whoever won was going to “steal” one away either in extra time or in penalties. With how the Union’s offense looked, it may have been their best chance at advancing in the playoffs. Then they gave up a game-winning goal in the 93rd minute. Yerson Mosquera put away a chance off of a set piece. Set up by a headed pass by Ian Murphy, Mosquera’s shot found the back of the net. That was that. VAR said it was a good goal. The Union’s season was over.

Needless to say, the goal is a pretty controversial decision. Many fans across the league believe that the Murphy was offside prior to his assist, and they really may have a point. It’s a gut-wrenching one to have go against you, but let’s be honest, it’s another one that Philadelphia did not deserve to win. This team has some serious problems moving forward. Maybe it’s better that they had a bit of an earlier exit this year for upper management to address the problems in the offseason.

It’s a painful loss, it’ll sting for a while, but it’s all over now. Philadelphia eliminated by FC Cincinnati 1-0. That’s the season folks.