They’re Back, Philadelphia Defeats New England 5-1

Chester, PA

July 17, 2024

The Philadelphia Union easily beat the New England Revolution Wednesday evening with a score of 5-1.  New England now has a steady hold on last place in the MLS East table.

Choosing the star of the game from the Union is not easy.  The return of goalkeeper Andre Blake from injury rehab certainly was a game-changer.  José Martínez also returned with his biting defense after representing Venezuela in Copa America, where he was selected for the tournament Best XI team. Perhaps it was the relative newcomer to Philadelphia’s line-up, Tai Baribo, who left the pitch with a hat trick and firmed up his place as Julián Carranza’s replacement.  Maybe it was Quinn Sullivan, who played only for about 20 minutes but scored a rocket.  Nor should we forget Cavan Sullivan’s first team debut at 14, the youngest yet to play in the MLS.  Perhaps it was the entire team, as Philadelphia seems poised to return to its dominant score-lines of mid-summer, 2022.

The rout began in the 29th minute when center back Jack Elliott perfectly directed the ball to Baribo’s head for the score.  Nine minutes later the other center back, Jakob Glesnes, put in a header of his own off of an assist from Kai Wagner.  It looked like the first half would end for Philadelphia with a respectable 2-0 lead, when Baribo scored his second, with the assist going to fellow striker, Mikael Uhre.  The Union left at half-time with a 3-0 lead.

At the 50th minute, New England got onto the scoreboard when Ian Harkes shot left from outside the box, with an assist from Esmir Bajraktarevic.  But two minutes later, Philadelphia returned to the half-time differential when Baribo scored his third on the run, with Wagner getting his second assist on the night.

The team left it to Sullivan to ice the cake with his hard shot in the 84th minute, with assist going to Glesnes.

Photographs of the game appear below:

Philadelphia’s Tai Baribo heads in the first score on the evening.Everyone was happy at the return of Andre Blake.A rejuvenated José Martínez stopped New England’s Esmir Bajraktarevic. The Sullivan brothers watched and waited to get subbed into the game.Quinn Sullivan shot this rocket past the New England keeper, Aljaz Ivacic.  Philadelphia’s Cavan Sullivan squirms past New England’s Ian Harkes trying to bring Sullivan down.