The Union ended a rather forgettable season with what could be one of the Union’s worse performances. With nothing to play for but pride the Union showed none. The final game for the Union was against arch rival New York Red Bulls. Philadelphia was gifted a golden opportunity to go out and steal the spotlight from a rival team but it backfired. Nothing went the Union’s way and the game ended up a 3-0 thrashing.
It was an all around horror show for the Union who could not stop the raging Red Bulls. An early PK gave the Red Bulls the lead in the 13th minute. Theirry Henry put his mark on the game after beating two defenders and slotting the ball past Mac Math in the 35 minute. In the 66th, Cooper bagged his second goal.
The Union were nonexistent, they played a slow paced game and allowed Red Bulls to dominate. Normally when the Union are being outplayed by an opponent they step their game up physically. Not in this case, the Union allowed NY to bully them. It was as if they did not want to be on the pitch. As NY calculated and attacked the Union. The Union reacted by late tackles and lazy passes.
Defensively the Union were under pressure and did not rise to the occasion. They had poor man marking and allowed for unfavorable match-ups. More often then not they needed last ditch defending. The defense did a poor job of jump starting the attack and distributing the ball to the midfield and attackers. Amobi Okugo made a number of big plays but he lacked communication with Carlos Valdes and the other backs. Gaddis was beat a number of times and showed his youth.
The Union were able to create chances but once again Jack Mac showed his inability to convert chances. He had a number of chances but refused to pull the trigger at times. He didn’t trouble the defense in the least. Jack’s problems are the same every week, he can not break defenders or create chances on his own. And when he gets into good position he more often then not misses his chance. Danny Cruz also had a few good shots but was unable to capitalize. This is a reoccurring story with Cruz. His hard work pays off but he never converts his chances.
This game offered up a chance for the Union to show up for the fans one last time. It would have been a glorious chance for the Union to have a lasting positive imprint after a long hard and negative season..unfortunately that didn’t happen. An offseason of change is coming stay tuned and I will keep you updated.
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