Union Wrangle Inter Miami

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Photo courtesy of Carl Gulbish

The message has been clear from interim head coach Ryan Richter—the Philadelphia Union will stand their ground at home.

With defending MLS Cup champions Inter Miami and world superstar Leo Messi coming to town, the goal remained the same. Despite two brilliant moments by Messi that had the visitors up 2-1 at the half, Neil Pierre’s second-half header pulled the Union level, and a disallowed Milan Iloski goal could have been the difference in a 2-2 draw at Subaru Park Wednesday night. In what was another strong performance at home, the Union refused to allow Miami to slice and dice them the way they did in the chaotic 6-4 loss in Miami in May, a game that created major ripples within the team and the organization.

The Union (5-10-5, 20 points) remain unbeaten in MLS play since the return from the World Cup break, and are now 3-0-1 at home in that span. Although the Union were the better side and created twice as many chances than the visitors, their mindset continues to be the importance of winning at home.

“We showed ourselves and to the league that we can hang with any team,” Union interim head coach Richter said after the game. “But overall, not the result we wanted because when we’re home we go for wins and not satisfied with a draw. But the performance, the way we battled, the way we attacked the second half, really proud of that.”

From the start, the Union played like the more aggressive side, and Indiana Vassilev affirmed the Union’s efforts with a goal eleven minutes into the game. Cavan Sullivan clipped a through ball from a deep lying position over the top to Frankie Westfield down the right side, and Westfield won the ball and sent a deep, curling cross to the back post. Vassilev, aided by Bruno Dmiani’s run to the near post, smashed a volley from the top of the six past Dwayne St. Clair to give the Union a 1-0 lead. The goal was Vassilev’s third on the season while Westfield’s assist was his seventh on the year. The outsider defender trails Sullivan (8) for the team lead in assists in all competitions this season.

 

“In order to believe in something, you have to do it,” Vassilev said about his team’s positive form since returning from the break, “and once you do it once, you know you can do over and over.” According to Richter, Vassilev continues to display the balance of work and quality to his game that made him a national team player. Vassilev earned his first two USMNT caps last January, a month before his Union debut, and has been one of the team’s most consistent performers in the midfield since.

“We need to win games to try to climb back into that playoff picture,” he said, “but once we won that first takeover from behind, the belief to do it again is always going to be there.”

In the 19th minute, the Union had a great chance to double their lead. Damiani, who’s been rejuvenated since the break, ran onto a lovely flick from Iloski near midfield and found himself on a clear breakaway against St. Clair. But as Damiani’s touches took him toward his weaker right foot with Ian Fray chasing, his low shot couldn’t beat St. Clair, who made a fine reaction leg save to hold Union’s advantage to one.

That opportunity proved costly for the Union as Miami equalized two minutes later. Daniel Pinter created a short combination outside of the box, cutting in from the left and found Messi off to the right with time and space. Messi cut back to his left and sent a floater to the far post to Luis Suaraez, who sent a beautiful header across the six for Pinter to finish.

Despite creating very few chances up until that moment, Miami’s quick strike changed the flow of the game for next five minutes, setting up more Messi magic. Receiving a ball again on the right, this time well inside the box, Messi beat Kai Wagner to the inside with a cut then froze him with a stutter step before curling the ball inside the far post for a 2-1 lead. The goal was Messi’s 13th in the league, and his 22 goal contributions on the season trails only FC Cincinnati’s Evander.

Despite trailing, the Union continued to perform as the better side, and two late chances in the half, one from a Westfield header off a corner and the other a Sullivan shot from distance, weren’t enough to close the gap. And when Messi lined up a free kick just outside the box two minutes from the break, the fans inside Subaru Park held their breath, exhaling with relief it hit off the wall.

After waiting a long time for the Miami players to come out of the locker room to start the second half, the Union found their rhythm again. Sullivan made a surging run forward before being clipped from well outside the box, but Wagner’s blast off the ensuing free kick only missed the near post by inches. Minutes later, Sullivan again provided a spark down the right, beating his defender with a great change of direction and pace before slipping a cut back ball to the penalty spot that the Miami defense blocked and cleared away.

In the 58th minute, the Union found their equalizer. Iloski lined up a free kick on the wide left edge of the box that he whipped in towards the near post. Pierre got to the ball first with a sprawling header that skimmed into the back of the net. Pierre, who’d been recalled by Danish club Lyngby at the start of the break, now has three goals in five games, a run of goals that goes back to when he scored in his debut with Lyngby then followed with two more goals over several more games.

“My confidence is slowly going up,” he said after the game. “it’s really from my teammates and them pushing me forward.”

Pierre and the Union weren’t finished. A minute later, Wagner sent a free kick into the box from the wide right, and Pierre won the header, forcing St. Clair to push the ball into Iloski’s path. Iloski buried the rebound under the bar to give the Union the lead, but VAR ruled Pierre’s toe was in an offside position, so the score remained at 2-2.

Photo courtesy of Carl Gulbish

Miami nearly snuck one against the run of play in the 69th minute when Messi slipped Pinter through the central defense. But Andre Blake came off with a strong save to keep it level. The Union responded with their best chance for a winner when a combination between Iloski and Sullivan put Iloski free to goal down the left. But with Damiani finding space at the back post and Danley Jean-Jacques surging unmarked from behind, Iloski elected to shoot from a wide angle, and St. Clair made another reaction save from close range. A minute later, Iloski turned a Messi blocked free kick into a counter, picking out Sullivan across the box, but the midfielder’s right-footed shot missed wide.

Then, late in stoppage time, the game took a wild turn when Miami’s Ian Fray tried to step over Quinn Sullivan while the Union midfielder lay on the ground. His antics sparked a wrestling match that included a side tussle between Quinn’s brother Cavan and Yannick Bright, who threw multiple punches during the entanglement. The skirmish resulted in double reds just before referee Filip Dujic blew the final whistle. The action certainly created a buzz around the stadium and across social media but unfortunately now likely leaves the Union without their best creator heading into the weekend.

“The action that kicked off the whole situation in the scrum was the real lack of respect from Fray,” Richter said about the late-game scuffle. “So Quinn’s reaction is totally normal of what you would do in that situation, but it’s a real lack of respect, and things like that happen when people behave like that.”

Richter also said he believes Cavan’s red was harsh considering he received multiple blows while trying to pull Bright away.

“It’s funny when it’s two brothers standing up for each other,” he added, “but as a team we have to stand up for each other and not go across the line where you’re getting suspended for games and you’re getting red cards. But that wasn’t the case in this one, so hopefully we can review that and get what I think is a fair outcome.”  

Despite starting the season 0-6, the Union are now 4-0-1 since the break and four points out of the final playoff spot with fourteen games to play. Following their Sunday night road win against New York City FC, who’d been a thorn for the Union in recent games, and now a strong performance against a top team in the league, the Union will look to carry the momentum into a favorable stretch of games. The team heads to Jim Curtin’s soon-to-be Austin FC, who are fourteenth in the Western Conference, followed by a short trip North next weekend against the New York Red Bulls, a team they’ve dominated in recent years. Their opportunity to stack points appears even more promising in two weeks when they host CF Montréal, who share an identical record as the Union yet sit below them in the standings due to goal differential. The Union beat Montréal on the road in April for their only win of the season’s first half.

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