Philadelphia Union II 1 (5)- 1 (4) Columbus Crew 2 – The Philly Soccer Page

Photo @PhilaUnionII

Philadelphia Union II won a 5-4 penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in regulation time against Columbus Crew 2 at Subaru Park on Monday night. Cavan Sullivan scored in regulation time for Philly and Brent Adu-Gyumfi equalized for Crew 2.

Sullivan secured the extra point for Union II with the sixth shot in the shootout.

In advance

Union II played at home one day after the first team’s home game, which gave the first team’s reserve team the opportunity to play less and get minutes. Several did so. For Columbus, the situation was just the opposite: They played away one day after their first team’s home game, which minimized opportunities for a last-minute double role. Crew 2 brought only 17 players

Before the game, the top ten teams in the East were separated by just ten points. Three points separated places five through ten. The playoff situation in the Eastern Conference was very close.

The final game of the weekend pitted second-place Philadelphia against third-place Columbus. A Columbus win would have put Crew 2 in second place. All other results (including Crew 2’s two points from a tie plus a shootout win) would have kept the standings status quo, as Union II had played one more game and had one more win in regulation time. That’s the first tiebreaker.

First half

Columbus dominated the first ten minutes, with their midfield controlling the middle third and the Ohioans putting pressure on Union II’s defense.

Then the game turned. Sometime between the 11th and 13th minutes, Philadelphia’s midfield began to assert itself. The word dominance is too strong, but superiority best describes who had more playing time for the rest of the half. Columbus defended in its defensive third more often than not.

After a strong defensive move, Cavan Sullivan grabbed the rebound from at least 25 meters away and shot into the goal. Columbus goalkeeper Stanislav Lapkes had no chance against the youngster’s left foot.

Philly had seven shots, three of which were on goal, while Columbus only had two and one of which was on goal.

We cannot confirm that Union II’s initial reticence was intentional to allow Nicholas Pariano to establish himself as a lone six.

Second half

Columbus coach Kelvin Jones brought in striker Giberto Rayan for Anthony Alaouieh at halftime. Union II coach Marlon LeBlanc made no changes at halftime.

For the first 10 to 13 minutes, Union stuck to the pattern that had dominated most of the first half. But as the hour approached, a clear divide began to emerge between Philly’s five attackers and six defenders, and pretty soon after, the boys in blue began to catch up in the midfield and focus on defense.

Accordingly, Columbus began to attack more and maintain possession in their attacking third, something they had failed to do over the previous 50 minutes. In the 64th minute, a Union II foul earned the Ohio boys a wide-left free kick from about 35 yards out, and while Andrew Rick was able to save the initial shot, a scuffle led to Brent Adu-Gyamfi equalizing. Chase Adams was credited with an assist.

After the goal, the two substitutes LeBlanc had on the bench came into the game, but the damage was done. Gavin Wetzel came in for Nick Pariano and Carlos Rojas moved to the six after replacing Jamir Berdecio. 16-year-old Jamir Johnson also replaced Eddy Davis III at that point.

Columbus remained dangerous throughout the half. Wetzel deserves full credit for blocking a Columbus shot aimed at the empty net after Rick left the field to block a shot that immediately preceded it.

In the 73rd minute, Sal Olivas was substituted for Diego Rocio and in the 79th minute, Kellan LeBlanc came on for Giovanny Sequera. The Union finished the game with a striker combination that played for their U17 team two months ago.

Union II had an opportunity to counterattack in injury time, but Sequera could not get away from his marker and reach the ball.

The tied game ended in penalty kicks, according to rules. The first three shooters from each side scored, with Columbus shooting first. Then CJ Olney was saved by Crew 2 goalkeeper Lapkes. However, Owen Presthus missed his shot and Jamir Johnson equalized, sending the shootout to sudden death. Columbus’ Rayo, who had taken the penalty kick that decided the game in Columbus about a month ago, was saved by Rick.

And Cavan Sullivan beat the goalkeeper who guessed correctly to equalize on points with FC Cincinnati, earning him the Man of the Match award.

Cavan Sullivan

The young man will turn 15 at the end of next month. He scored his third goal for Union II and took the extra point for the shootout.

More importantly, after looking clearly worn out after 60 or 65 minutes, he came back to life and played the full 90 minutes. He applies good pressure to his opponents throughout the 90 minutes when he presses. He intercepts balls but does not take the ball away from opponents who have it, at least not at this level yet.

To push himself to the extent that he could play the full 90 minutes with only one real lull is a clear step forward. Former Bethlehem Steel coach Brendan Burke would have complimented him for that at the end of the game. Overcoming that hurdle was one of the signs, for Burke, of a youngster becoming a mature player.

Sullivan is doing his best to help Union II reach the playoffs and potentially advance to the MLS NEXTPro Cup.

Next game

Philadelphia now has five games left in its regular season.

The next match will take place the day after the FIFA September international window closes, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11, against expansion team Carolina Core. You can check Apple Plus closer to the date to see if the match is still scheduled for that platform.

Three points plus one

1. Since Damion Lowe has apparently gone to Saudi Arabia, Olwethu Makhanya will be the third centre-back of the first team and will probably play less frequently for Union II. We expect Carlos Rojas to replace him as left centre-back.
2. With Sanders Ngabo gone, the auditions are being conducted on the Single Six, supported by the defensive-minded Randy Meneses on the bench. Today’s candidate was Nick Pariano. Given the development priorities for young midfielders, we doubt that there would be a long-term move away from the narrow diamond formation with its single six.
3. If the Monday night game is counted as the last of Week 24, Union II is level on points with Cincinnati 2 but in second place with one fewer win in regulation time. Columbus is three points behind. Both Columbus and Cincy have one fewer game than Union II. The two leaders are six points ahead of fourth-place Crown Legacy (Charlotte’s professional farm team).
4. It should come as no surprise all younger substitutes were sent into the gamethe old players stayed on the bench. It’s a development team. The young players have to learn how to win.

RESULT

Lineups

Union II (4-1-2-1-2, LR) 1^st – 6, UII – 8, Acad – 6. Average age of starters = 18.4

Starters: Andrew Rick; Frank Westfield, Olwethu Makhanya, Neil Pierre, Jamir Berdecio (Gavin Wetzel 64′); Nick Pariano (Carlos Rojas 64′)CJ Olney, Kellan LeBlanc (Giovanny Sequera 73′); Cavan Sullivan; Sal Olivas (Diego Rocio 79′), Eddy Davis III (James Johnson 73′).

Unused substitutes: Michael Sheridan; Randy Meneses, Kyle Tucker, Leandro Soria.

Crew 2 (3-4-3)

Starters: Stanislav Lapkes; Christopher Rogers, Xavier Zengue (Ibrahima Sy 72′)Jacob Greene (Terron Williams 90+1′); Tristan Brown, Adrian Gonzalez, Giorgio DeLibera (Owen Presthus 72′)Brent Adu-Gyamfi; Anthony Alaouieh (Gibran Rayo HT)Jayden Da (Nicholas Rincon 58′)Chase Adams.

Unused replacement: Cole Johnson;.

Goals

Union II, 29th minute, Cavan Sullivan

Team 2 64th minute Brent Adu-Gyamfi (Chase Adams)

Yellow cards

Team 2 51st minute Jacob Greene (foul)

Union II, 72nd minute: Gavin Wetzel (foul)

statistics

shoot-out

Sudden death

Whistles & Flags

reference: Gary Gutierrez, AR¹: Nicholas Seymour, AR²: Jennifer Dumaine, 4^TH: Ricardo Montero Araya.