International Soccer
Côte d’Ivoire defeat Philadelphia Union II 2-0 in friendly
Philadelphia Union II hosted Côte d’Ivoire in a pre-World Cup friendly match on Monday night. Les Éléphants defeated the young Union II team by a 2-0 scoreline via goals from Evann Guessand and Ange-Yoan Bonny. Cavan Sullivan had a penalty saved by Alban LaFont, and Nicolas Pepe had a penalty saved by JoJo Elliott.
It was a unique atmosphere in Chester on Monday night. Côte d’Ivoire, who are stationed at the Union’s facilities to train ahead of the World Cup, agreed to host their fans in an open scrimmage against Union II. Stationed in Wilmington, Delaware, the Ivorians were greeted by a swarm of their fans as their team bus arrived at the DuPont Building late last week. There were plenty of orange shirts in attendance at Subaru Park Monday as the Union hosted about a half-full stadium of fans, free of charge. Côte d’Ivoire trotted out a somewhat rotated starting lineup from their last friendly against France, while Union II’s lineup consisted mostly of their regular starters with Cavan Sullivan back in the mix. Côte d’Ivoire started out on the front foot. Ange-Yoan Bonny was played through on goal in the
opening two minutes of the match, but Union II goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook made an exceptional save with his head. Les Éléphants would not be denied for much longer though, as Aston Villa winger Evann Guessand scored the opening goal past Holbrook in the 9th minute.
Union II gained a bit of momentum after conceding early. Eddy Davis nearly found some luck, as a deflected long-distance shot looped over the goalkeeper Alban LaFont, who recovered quickly to tip it over the bar for a corner.
In the 22 nd minute, Côte d’Ivoire made a turnover attempting to play out of the back. Cavan Sullivan intercepted the ball, dribbling past a Côte d’Ivoire defender, who took the young Sullivan down. The referee awarded a penalty kick to Union II, which Sullivan stepped up to take. Sullivan shot with power down the middle, but LaFont kept his legs extended to save the penalty.
In the 30th minute, the players took their first of two breaks. The match was split up into three 30-minute periods so that Côte d’Ivoire could rotate their lineup. In the second period, Finn Sundstrom committed a foul in the box, awarding Côte d’Ivoire a penalty. Inter Milan striker Ange-Yoan Bonny slotted the penalty past Pierce Holbrook, awarding Côte d’Ivoire a 2-0 lead.
In the final 30-minute period, Union II made wholesale changes including several active NCAA players and some on their way to campus this fall. Maryland’s Henry Bernstein played in midfield ahead of Pitt’s Gavin Wetzel, and Delaware’s JoJo Elliott replaced Holbrook in net.
There was also a surprise for Union fans, as former homegrown Anthony Fontana made an appearance. Fontana is training with the Union to maintain fitness as he looks for his next club. Côte d’Ivoire were awarded another penalty late in the match after a collision with Lennon Harrington. Harrington appeared to win the ball, but the referee awarded a penalty regardless. Former Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe stepped up to take the penalty kick, but Elliott saved the penalty low to his left. The match ended soon after, with Côte d’Ivoire taking the friendly by a 2-0 scoreline.
The Union will host Côte d’Ivoire again on Friday, June 12 th for a free-to-attend open training session at 6:30 p.m. at Subaru Park. Les Éléphants will begin their World Cup campaign in Philadelphia on Sunday, June 14 th at Lincoln Financial Field at 7 p.m. against Ecuador.
Union II will return to action next weekend on Sunday, June 14 th against New York City FC II at WSFS Bank Sportsplex. Currently sitting in 10 th place in the Eastern Conference, Union II will look to rebound in the second half of the season to claim a playoff spot.
Union II lineup:
Pierce Holbrook; Rafael Uzcátegui, Finn Sundstrom, Giovanny Sequera, Kaiden Moore; Oscar Benitez, Matheus De Paula, Willyam Ferreira, Cavan Sullivan; Theo Reed, Eddy Davis III.
Substitutes: Nehan Hasan, Andrew Craig, Lennon Harrington, Mamoutou Berthé, JoJo Elliott, Gavin Wetzel, Abdoulaye Diop, Daniel Krueger, Henry Bernstein, Anthony Fontana
Côte d’Ivoire lineup:
Alban LaFont; Christopher Opéri, Ousmane Diomande, Odilon Kossounou, Wilfried Singo, Jean Michaël Seri, Ibrahim Sangare, Toure Bazoumana, Guiagon Parfait, Guessand Evann, Ange-Yoan Bonny
Substitutes: Guela Doue, Oulai Christ Inao, Kone Mohamed, Konan Ghislain, Agbadou Emmanuel, Franck Kessie, Seko Fofana, Simon Adingra, Nicolas Pepe, Diomande Yan, Oumar Diakite
