Philadelphia Union and Andre Blake aren’t fooling anyone

The Philadelphia Union may have scored four goals against the New York Red Bulls for their first-ever playoff victory. But with the hapless Andre Blake in goal and unconvincing defenders in front of him, Jim Curtin’s side are not fooling anyone.

Andre Blake will be the most relieved man in Philadelphia right now.

For long spells on Sunday, it looked like the Philadelphia Union were on the verge of yet another playoff choke. And, but for an incredible and somewhat lucky 4-3 comeback win in extra-time, this would have been yet more crunch-time pain for a team steeped in flailing when it matters most.

But this time, they didn’t. So let’s give some credit where it’s due. Jim Curtin’s side have had a really solid season, finishing third in the Eastern Conference and fifth overall, their highest respective finishes since 2011. Philadelphia have been almost impossible to beat at Talen Energy Stadium in 2019, losing just three times, and have picked up useful results on the road against the likes of Atlanta United and D.C. United. A serious postseason splash has looked on the cards for some time now and they’ve finally won their first-ever playoff game.

However, and despite putting on one hell of a show against the New York Red Bulls, their four goals aren’t fooling anyone.

The Philadelphia Union have never made it beyond the conference semi-finals during the now 10 years they’ve been in MLS and Sunday’s crazy game against the Red Bulls highlighted two giant problems which mean they may fail to do so again this time around: Blake is a calamity and the Philly lack big-game players in defence.

When it came to the playoff crunch at the weekend, Philadelphia fell to pieces at the back and very nearly shot themselves in the foot. Blake had an absolute nightmare afternoon, allowing a relatively straightforward Josh Sims strike to beat him despite getting a good hand behind it, while his flapping at crosses for the Red Bulls’ next two goals are symptomatic of the kind of goalkeeper he is. Nervous, erratic and wholly unconvincing. How he became an MLS All-Star this year is quite the mystery.

But to blame Blake on his own, however mind-bendingly catastrophic he was, would be very unfair. The 28-year-old flapped at everything that came into his box but his confidence cannot have been helped by the shambolic centre-back pairing in front of him.

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Jack Elliot grabbed a second-half goal to keep the Union alive on Sunday but don’t let that fool you into thinking he or Mark McKenzie alongside him had anything but a wretched afternoon. Elliot was nightmarish when trying to deal with crosses into the box, swiping out wild legs to try and make contact with the ball, passing the book to the next man and failing to take control of the game at any point.

Some of Elliot’s sliced clearances throughout were just small samples of the slapstick defending on offer on Sunday, while he looked like an old redwood ready to topple at a moment’s notice when isolated one-on-one.

At times, when facing his own goal to deal with a cross, even neutral supporters will have been sat there with hearts in mouths. McKenzie, an inexperienced 20-year-old, was subsequently run ragged trying to cover wherever he could, a job he simply couldn’t do on his own.

And when it comes to playoff success, this defensive vulnerability is exceptionally concerning. While the Union have panicked centre-backs and a blundering Blake, NYCFC have Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens. Atlanta United have Miles Robinson. LAFC boast Walker Zimmerman. Each are leaders and fail-safes in their own right and have stood up in big games.

The Philadelphia Union also have a major weakness at set-pieces. They have conceded eight goals from set-pieces during the regular season, the third-highest number of any playoff team, and allowed more total goals (50) than the likes of the Chicago Fire (47), Columbus Crew (47) and FC Dallas (46), who all placed much lower than them in the standings. This is anything but a new problem or a bad game in isolation. It’s a running theme, and a very worrying one at that.

For all of their attacking endeavour on Sunday, this defensive ineptitude revealed a giant gap in the Union’s armour. Up next is Atlanta United, and with the likes of Josef Martinez, Ezequiel Barco and Pity Martinez to call upon, they are a totally different animal to this current Red Bulls side. Make these mistakes against the Five Stripes, who live for big games, and you will be punished.

Until Curtin and the Philadelphia Union front office invest in more reliable, big-game centre-backs, and bring in a goalkeeper who isn’t a ticking timebomb, their playoff attempts will only continue to end in disaster. The problem is, with the postseason already here, there is no quick fix in sight this time.