Larry Henry Jr
The Philadelphia Union failed to get much going in their 2020 MLS regular season opener, losing 2-0 at FC Dallas on Saturday.
A pair of second-half goals from Luchi Gonzalez’s side sent the Western Conference side to an important home win over the Boys in Blue. Jakob Glesnes made his MLS debut for the Union starting in defense, but Kai Wagner, Matej Oravec, and Andrew Wooten all missed out.
In a game which didn’t feature many offensive chances, it was FC Dallas who made the most of theirs. Michael Barrios had the best of the opening half being denied by Andre Blake from close-range.
🗣ANDRE BLAKE! What. A. Save!
Our man between the sticks keeps us even in Dallas😤#DOOP | #DALvPHI 0 – 0 pic.twitter.com/1cw9ryfVA0
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) February 29, 2020
The Union had some good looks, but failed to force Jesse Gonzalez into any trouble in the opening 45 minutes.
Zdenek Ondrasek broke the deadlock in the 61st minute after catching the Jamaican sleeping from outside of the box. The striker’s low effort beat a diving Blake and found the bottom-left corner for his first goal of the season.
Mark McKenzie was denied by Jesse Gonzalez later in the half from a header while Alejandro Bedoya was also left frustrated by the young goalkeeper.
U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Paxton Pomykal came off the bench for his first action this calendar year and iced the result. He drove across the box and hit a low shot into the right corner, giving the Western Conference side an important home victory.
Gonzalez finished the game with three saves for FC Dallas while Blake made three in the loss.
The Union next travel to LAFC on Matchday 2 seeking their first win of the season.
You can follow Larry Henry on Twitter (@lhenry019) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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