Union II Cruise to 3-1 Home Win Against Columbus Crew 2

Sunday evening brought along another MLS Next Pro gameday for Marlon LeBlanc’s Union II side as they finally returned home to Subaru Park to take on former champions Columbus Crew 2.

Union II vs Crew 2 Recap

As I said in my preview piece heading into today’s fixture, LeBlanc had a roster nightmare on his hands, and you can see the heavy rotation in the team sheet. Cavan Sullivan starts for the first time in a while, Sal Olivas and Eddy Davis are re-united up top, Carlos Rojas gets the start in midfield, and a bunch of academy callups fill the bench up with the likes of Anisse Saidi, Jamir Johnson, and Brandan Craig’s younger brother Andrew Craig featuring on the bench. 

Sanders Ngabo was also missing from the squad because of the very sad news of his father’s passing this past week. Myself, everyone at PSN, and everyone in the Union fanbase and community wish Sanders and his family all our prayers, wishes, and condolences.

First Half

From the kick-off Union II found themselves on top, putting pressure on the visitors, winning a couple of early corners, and seeing a couple of early shots blocked or just fired wide. The game opened up a lot in the following 10 minutes or so, with both teams hitting fast, counterattacks but the quality in the final third was lacking, well it was… 

Just after the 15-minute mark, Union II struck first after Cavan Sullivan picked the ball up and found CJ Olney on the left wing. Olney then produced one of the best passes I’ve seen in a long time to find Sal Olivas in the box, with the forward slotting home to put Marlon LeBlanc’s side up 1-0 early on. 

Sal Olivas had another good chance to put his side 2-0 up shortly after his opening goal but the Columbus keeper pulled off a good save down low to his right. Columbus then came back at Philly and reminded them of the danger they still present, as a ball in the box was just headed wide of Union II’s goal. 

Union II have dominated this game just like their last game against NYRB II and this is with quite a few new faces in the lineup. That dominance turned into a 2^nd goal as a miss-hit clearance from Columbus’ keeper allowed Sal Olivas to pick the ball up and hit an absolute rocket into the top right-hand corner. 

The final 5 minutes of the first half were complete and utter chaos. Columbus hit Philly with a fast-paced attack which saw a little scramble in the box before Adrian Gonzalez finished cooly at the back post to get the Crew back into this one. 

The visitors looked to be heading into halftime with all the momentum but when a counterattack saw CJ Olney through on goal, that momentum completely shifted. The star attacking midfielder spun away from the defender and slotted calmly past the onrushing goalkeeper to restore Union II’s 2-goal lead. The first half finished with the scoreline at 3-1 Union II. 

2nd Half

The opening 10 minutes of the 2^nd half was pretty tame compared to the previous 45, with both teams finding their footing within the game and a couple of small chances for both sides. Cavan Sullivan departed the game just before the 55^th minute, with U17’s teammate Jamir Johnson replacing him. 

Columbus was much better in the 2^nd half, they controlled much more of the ball compared to their first-half performance and came very close to a 2nd goal after some clever build-up, but Andrew Rick made a phenomenal stop at close range to keep the scoreline at 3-1 Philly.

2^nd half was really lacking quality and the energy that both teams had in the 1^st half. Marlon LeBlanc decided to make a triple substitution with 15 minutes left in the game, with goalscorer Olivas, Tucker, and Davis leaving the field for LeBlanc, Perez, and Saidi. Columbus went close just after the subs, but their long-range shot was deflected wide. 

One last substitution for Marlon LeBlanc in the 80^th minute, with Jamir Berdecio, who was fresh off playing for Bolivia this past Friday, was taken off for Gavin Wetzel. Andrew Rick made another great save from a Columbus free kick as the visitors put a lot of late pressure to try and get another goal, but the game finished 3-1 Union II.

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Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union II