Tag: Mikael Uhre

MLS Madness™ as double-VAR goal helps CF Montreal stun Philadelphia Union

Did you know VAR can VAR itself?

It’s safe to say that Jim Curtin didn’t enjoy the late, er, show at Stade Olympique on Saturday.

The Philadelphia Union boss was left baffled after his side threw away a 2-1 road lead to fall 3-2 at CF Montréal. Julián Carranza was sent off in the 69th minute, and the Quebecois club turned a seeming loss into a stunning win thanks to a goal that went through two different VAR checks, and a 98th minute Romell Quioto winner.

It started well enough for Montréal, who took a third-minute lead. Mathieu Choinière’s shot was handled by Jakob Glesnes, sending Quioto to the spot early. The Honduran had no trouble converting the penalty, giving Montréal their first goal of the season.

The Union weren’t happy with their first half, and wasted no time getting level. Mikael Uhre shot home after just 20 seconds following excellent work from Leon Flach and Dániel Gazdag.

Philadelphia then produced a lovely second, passing their way around the characteristic high press of Hernán Losada’s teams. A series of headed passes fell to José Martínez, whose clever lob opened the game up.

Gazdag then essentially produced a carbon copy of Martínez’s pass, taking advantage of an odd hop off the Big O turf to send Uhre in alone for a brace.

However, Carranza picked up a second yellow card nine minutes later, crashing into Joel Waterman well after the ball was gone.

It was a golden chance for Montréal to break out of a season-opening three-game losing streak, but even as Losada threw in a quadruple substitution to try and get his team some kind of equalizer, shots for the home side were hard to come by. The Union were showing their experience, and seemed set to kill the game off for a hard-earned win.

Montréal had seemingly one last push, though, and produced an unconventional equalizer in the 90th minute. Waterman, a center back, ended up in space on the right wing, and served in a hopeful cross. Choinière, a wingback, found himself in the goalmouth, and despite the attentions of three Philadelphia players, floated a header back against the grain.

The Union were bailed out, as the ball clipped off the crossbar and away from goal. With the game up for grabs, Chinoso Offor simply wanted it more than Glesnes, winning a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge to bundle the ball across the line.

VAR held up referee Nima Saghafi, though: Offor and Sunusi Ibrahim were possibly offside as Choinière’s header went towards goal.

Replays seem to point to a goal coming back, but even after Saghafi booked Losada for urging the game to restart and then checked the monitor, no conclusion came. Saghafi left the monitor after less than 30 seconds, calling the goal off. Montréal captain Victor Wanyama pleaded with an official, and before play resumed, VAR called down again.

The overturned call needed to be checked again…by the guy who had overturned it.

Saghafi took another look, and this time the goal stood. Unsurprisingly, the two coaches had differing takes.

“Luckily for the beauty of the sport and for us tonight they could come back and make the right decision because at the end they made the right call,” Losada told reporters after the match.

Union boss Jim Curtin felt somewhat differently in his remarks, saying “the word s—show comes to mind,” adding that “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

Answering a question sent by a pool reporter after the game, Saghafi explained the situation:

On the initial review, the defender holding [Offor] onside was off screen. After the initial review occurred, prior to play restarting, the VAR discovered an angle that clearly showed that [Offor] was in an onside position when the ball was last touched by a teammate.

Back to the game, which wasn’t over. Losada’s D.C. United teams were known for going all-out for wins, whether or not that was the wisest course of action. With a home crowd roaring and a short-handed, fatigued opponent, though?

You probably already know where this one’s going: in the eighth minute of stoppage time Choinière was involved yet again, looping a cross to the back post. What started as a battle between Quioto and Union right back Olivier Mbaizo ended with the former easily shedding the latter, and Quioto turned the resulting free header into a dramatic, last-gasp winner.

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Philadelphia Union grind it out, besting FC Cincinnati 1-0 in MLS playoffs

The Union were just a little bit better in a bruising battle with Cincy

MLS playoff wins are often a long way from pretty, and if that’s how it has to be, the Philadelphia Union are ready.

Philadelphia and FC Cincinnati duked it out at Subaru Park Thursday night, and the Union did just enough in a physical battle to take a 1-0 decision. Leon Flach, who hadn’t scored a goal all season, picked up the game-winner in the second half of a hotly contested Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Union front three of Julián Carranza, Dániel Gazdag, and Mikael Uhre combined for 49 goals and 25 assists on the season. Cincinnati had pretty much the same situation with their attacking trio: Luciano Acosta, Brenner, and Brandon Vazquez totaled 49 goals and 25 assists in MLS this year.

And yet, the stars of this battle ended up being eaten up for long spells by the unsung players in the respective engine rooms. Philadelphia’s ferocious pressing and defensive organization meant the visitors never had time to think. Going the other way, Obinna Nwobodo was seemingly everywhere for Cincy, preventing the Union from assembling any passing fluency.

It was fitting that when the Union broke the deadlock in the 59th minute, it wasn’t an attack-first Designated Player. It wasn’t even a star fullback like Kai Wagner, or a set piece. It was Flach, the midfield shuttler  — that’s Leon “zero goals in 2022” Flach — sweeping the ball past Roman Celentano after a scramble inside the Cincinnati box.

They say goals change games, and while Cincinnati did go for a classic center back out/striker in substitution, with Ian Murphy coming off for Sergio Santos, the game largely remained a hectic scrap. Referee Tim Ford somehow only gave out five yellow cards as the tackles continued to fly in, and if any big-name player stood out, it was Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.

Ultimately, while both of these teams are capable of some lovely soccer, the fact is that they’re two of the rough-and-tumble East’s roughest, tumblingest teams. This was never likely to become a game about technical proficiency. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, Philly is just a little bit more comfortable with the sort of battle this game turned into, and that’s why the Union are off to the conference final.

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