Philadelphia Union: Wild weather delay part of wild win

No raining on the Philadelphia Union

A rain delay of nearly two hours couldn’t stop the Philadelphia Union as the Supporters Shield holders continue to churn out results in a 2-1 win over DC United.

Thunderstorms, some violent, caused a delay of 114 minutes for both sides, but the end result for the Union was an important 2-1 win over an Eastern Conference rival. Play was halted in the 83rd minute for the weather delay with the Union clinging to their one-goal lead through nearly two hours of heavy rain, winds and vivid lightning pounded Subaru Park in Chester, PA.

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“Overall a unique night, certainly. But again, full credit goes to these players who no matter who’s here, who’s not here, who’s injured, who’s away with international duty the next guy always steps up,” Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin said after the match.

“So really proud of Joe Bendik. He was getting a big win for us, made a few key saves in the first half. Obviously, it’s a difficult spot to come into, a unique spot for sure but he stepped up and contributed in a big way. Just like all these players have at different moments of the season so far.

“We still have a lot we can improve on, no question about that. I still don’t think we created enough chances but if you want to talk about throwing the data and the statistics out the window the grit the fight that these guys show game in and game out no matter what the circumstances. I couldn’t be more proud of this team. So, again, Jack Elliott has put together two of probably his best games with Red Bull and now this one where he just has been a real dominant force back there for us the partnership that him and Jakob [Glesnes] have will certainly keep us in every game so couldn’t be more proud of them. But overall, it’s a complete team effort, a gutsy to one win with a little rain delay sprinkled in there. But again, it showed the focus and the determination of this group. So overall, I’m a proud coach.”

Since a May 1 loss to New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union have taken 19 points from their last 11 matches. They’ve only lost once in that stretch.

An 11th minute goal by Sergio Santos was negated when DC United’s Yamil Asad equalized from the penalty spot in the 51st minute. Kacper Przybylko’s goal in the 83rd minute, a one-timed roller past a helpless Bill Hamid, gave the Union all three points.

The Union are now 6-3-5 (23 points) after the win, which moves them into second place in the Eastern Conference and fifth in the league table.

Managing a delay for the Philadelphia Union

The nearly two-hour delay wasn’t easy for either team. But with the Philadelphia Union holding a one-goal lead at the time the game was halted, it made for an unusual scenario for Curtin and his coaching staff.

Rarely is a match halted with just seven minutes remaining, let alone delayed for nearly two hours.

“So again your, your initial reaction is to get them off the field and get the message to them immediately that, you know, this game is finishing tonight you know whether I’m right or wrong doesn’t really matter when I say that, but I have to say that, just so that their brains don’t switch off or even have a one percent possibility that we’re not playing this tonight we’re playing it tomorrow,” Curtin said.

“So, overall, you know, that’s the first step, then you give them, we start to get information on the blocks and how long it’s going to be 30 minutes…30 more minutes…45 or whatever it might be, and then we kind of time it so that I have enough time to talk to them for five minutes, then they can start their activation inside and part of their warm up and we agree to a 15-minute warm up, just start the game right out. So yeah, it’s a strange one for sure.”

Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex‘ on Twitter @KristianRDyer

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