The Philadelphia Union’s 2nd trip out to the west coast went as well as their 1st, another 1-nil loss. This time at the hands of the Portland Timbers. The Union were forced to start the game with only 2 of their regulars on the back line. Jordan Harvey was out due to suspension and Danny Califf was left out of the squad due to an illness. Filling in were the Farfan brothers, Gabriel and Michael. Once again the defense played well. They repelled wave after wave of attack by the Timbers. The ongoing problems with the Union’s offense found its way back into the midfield. Amobi Okugo who has played excellent so far this year had an off game. Brian Carroll didn’t play much of a role and Justin Mapp looked like he should be playing in a bar league. The front 3 of Mwanga, Le Toux, and Ruiz just cannot play together. Even with such a bad outing and players missing from the lineup, the Union made a game of it. The defense held strong until the 72nd minute when Futty Danso scored from a Jack Jewsbury free kick.
The Union are back at it again at PPL Park on Wednesday night versus the LA Galaxy. They will be looking to rebound from only their 2nd loss of the season. The first came against the team they will be going up against, LA. The Galaxy sit atop of the Western Conference but also have played more games than almost everyone else. Last Saturday they played host to RBNY and came away with a 1-1 draw. LA is 2-2-2 on the road and 2-1-2 in their last five matches. The Galaxy feature a star studded lineup led by Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Juan Pablo Angel, and Juninho. Fortunately for Philly, Beckham is not making the trip cross county as he is being rested due to LA busy schedule.
Philadelphia’s defense is going to be on the top of their game in order to compete with LA. They will be give a boost with the return of Harvey to the lineup. Califf was back in training, so he should make the start. The Union will be missing their manager, Peter Nowak, who has flown to Poland to play in a charity match. Personally I don’t think this is a good time to be away from the team. The Union’s offense continues to struggle. Not only have they not been scoring, they are not creating chances. Changes need to be made, but I think with Nowak out of the country we are going to see more of the same.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
