By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Chester, Pa. — The Philadelphia Union have advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2024 Leagues Cup edition. The Union defeated CF Montréal 2-0 on Friday night at Subaru Park.
Due to the game being played on a Friday, heavy rain before clearing skies, and protests of the Leagues Cup tournament, Subaru Park was not the same like a normal home game. Only several thousand fans were in attendance.
In a normal game with a full crowd, the stadium along the Delaware River could hold nearly 19,000 fans. However, it was very empty on this night.
The Sons of Ben, which had a small presence at the game, and other fans are protesting the team’s participation in the Leagues Cup tournament. The supporter group, along with other supporter groups around the league, would prefer their teams play in older and more prestigious, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which has been around more than 100 years.
The union sent their second team, the Philadelphia Union II, to play in the U.S. Open Cup.
The Sons of Ben claimed to have a walk out during the first Leagues Cup game. However, that did not happen. They supported the team in their first two Leagues Cup games.
Yet, there was a small presence at this game.
With the win, the Union will play on Tuesday against FC Cincinnati. The game will be played at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
This will be a matchup of two close friends, too. FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan previously worked for the Union.
He was an assistant coach under current Union head coach Jim Curtin. Noonan served as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia-based team from 2018 through 2021 before accepting the FC Cincinnati job.
Noonan has the edge against Curtin since becoming the FC Cincinnati head coach. FC Cincinnati is 3-1-0 in their last four games against the Union.
Since the beginning of the 2022 season, FC Cincinnati is 4-2-0 against the Union.
Despite the record since Noonan took over in Cincinnati, the Union leads the all time series. They are 6-3-4 against FC Cincinnati.
Noonan’s team won the lone meeting this season. In June, FC Cincinnati won 4-3.
The Union played that game without one of their best players in Andre Blake, who was sidelined for several weeks with an injury. Blake will be played on Tuesday night.
Last year, FC Cincinnati ended the Union’s season with a 1-0 win. The Union, according to fotmob.com, has not defeated FC Cincinnati since October 20th, 2022. That’s when they won 1-0 at Subaru Park.
Tai Baribo had a brace for the Union. He scored his first goal in the 45’+1 minute.
Sam Adeniran took a shot on CF Montréal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois in the box. It deflected in front of Baribo who then took a shot on the net and beat Sirois.
Then, late in the second half, Baribo tallied his second goal. He scored in the 90’+6 minute off an assist from Jack McGlynn.
Since Julián Carranza departed for Feyenoord in July, Baribo has received more playing time. He has now scored three goals in the Leagues Cup.
He also scored the winning goal against Charlotte FC in the group stage of the tournament.
Baribo had six goals in June and July in MLS competitions. He scored two goals against FC Cincinnati.
In July, he had a hat trick against the New England Revolution. And he also scored a goal against Toronto FC.
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