Philadelphia Union
Debut struggles, red card sink Philadelphia Union at D.C.
The new-look Philadelphia Union struggled mightily on Saturday night’s MLS Season Opener against D.C. United, falling 1-0 to the Union’s typical favorite foe. After winning their last three matches against D.C. by a combined score of 10-0, the Union dropped their first match against the Black-and-Red since the 2021 MLS Season. Tai Baribo came back to bite the Union with an early goal, and the Union failed to respond.
When Frankie Westfield pulled out of the starting XI during warm-ups, he was replaced by the 19-year-old Finn Sundstrom, a versatile defender who played most of his minutes at center back for North Carolina FC in USL. Sundstrom was one of three Union players to make their first MLS start with the Union, and one of six players who appeared for Philadelphia for the first time, the product of the crucial departures the Union suffered in the offseason. The result of the many new faces was one of the more disjointed Union performances in recent history. The misery was compounded by an odd red card taken by Ezekiel Alladoh for words exchanged after the ball went out of play, leaving the Union shorthanded from the 58th minute onwards.
Bradley Carnell spoke about Sundstrom stepping in for Westfield after the match. “Frankie, in the warm-up, didn’t feel 100%… I thought it was very mature of him to put himself out of harm’s way for a longer period of time. Hopefully, it’s just a couple days out,” Carnell remarked. “We thought that Finn could come in and do a job, and I thought he did a really good job. But he had something going on with his ankle towards the end there… it just rolled up on him,” he explained, elaborating on why Sundstrom was replaced at halftime by Geiner Martinez.
New center back Japhet Sery Larsen spoke about the young Sundstrom and Martinez after the match as well. “We’ll be trying our best to help Finn,” the Danish center back said. “He’s a really good player. It’s not easy to be thrown in… he did his best. He was playing out of position as well.” Afterwards, Sery Larsen was asked about Martinez, who went on to replace Sundstrom in the second half. “He’s a great guy. He doesn’t speak much English at all, but he’s trying his best. Even though he doesn’t speak the language, he’s trying to communicate out there,” he remarked. “He was thrown in in the second half, making his debut as well… but I think he did his best. We need everyone. We saw that today. Everyone on the bench needs to be ready, because we have some struggles now… with injuries.”
Club record signing Ezekiel Alladoh’s MLS debut did not go to plan. Alladoh played a role as an outlet for the Union in the first half, holding the ball up and drawing multiple free kicks in dangerous areas. Still, the Union struggled to get their strikers in scoring situations, as Alladoh and Bruno Damiani combined for only three touches in the D.C. United penalty area. After the match, Damiani spoke about Alladoh’s profile. “Eze is very strong, and he did really well with the hold-up play. But, he’s really fast too, and I think that’s the key that we are not exploiting. Last year with Mikael Uhre, every time he went in, he was looking for the balls in behind… we need to figure out, that moment when Eze is doing the runs, [but] the timing is not there, that he can also … run in behind,” Damiani remarked. “But in the first half, he was one of the best players on the team, doing great hold up play and created some chances.”
However, Alladoh was shown a straight red card in the second half for something that was said to a D.C. substitute that was warming up on the end line. When asked about the odd red card, Bradley Carnell said “There were some verbal pleasantries exchanged. I don’t know… I’ve been in games, there’s a lot of chatter and banter between everybody. I’m not sure what extent… But, again, we’ll do our investigation and have a look.” After the match, referee Guido Gonzales Jr. explained that Alladoh had “directed an obscene gesture and language” and was then given a red card for “offensive and insulting, abusive language/actions”, as reported by José Mauricio Umaña of WTOP News. A red card will see Alladoh suspended for the Union’s home match against NYCFC, but he may still be subject to more punishment. MLS guidelines on Abusive, Insulting or Offensive Language states that players whose behavior violates league Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy for MLS Players may be subject to additional discipline. If desired, Alladoh can file an appeal with the Independent Review Panel (IRP) to avoid further punishment.
Cavan Sullivan’s performance off the bench was a bright spot in an otherwise drab evening for the Union. The young Sullivan came on in the 70th minute for Milan Iloski. In only 20 minutes, Sullivan completed two crosses, won multiple corner kicks, and created a big chance with a beautiful free kick at the death that was missed at the back post by Olwethu Makhanya and Danley Jean Jacques. “We’re finding the balance between Cavan the talent and Cavan the teammate,” Carnell remarked after the match. “He has to find that balance. I think he’s finding more moments of balance, not just trying to have the ultimate moment in every moment… I think that’s been vital for him… Cavan did well.”
The Union are back in action on Thursday, February 26th at Subaru Park for the second leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup match against Defence Force F.C. The Union carry a 5-0 aggregate lead into the second leg. The Union play their first home MLS match on Sunday, March 1 against NYCFC at 4:30 p.m.
