No.3 met no.6 in Philadelphia as Union edged out Red Bulls in what was definitely round one’s must watch fixture. Mexican star Marco Fabian came off the bench and scored what turned out to be the winner for Philadelphia as they rallied back from a pair of two goal deficits and booked their place in the second round of fixtures.
Red Bulls entered the game with a poor league campaign behind them and stakes as rank underdogs at +280 in our odds, but quickly raced into an early 0-2 lead thanks to goals from Josh Sims and Timothy Parker in minutes 6 and 24 respectively. Union captain Alejandro Bedoya rallied the home crowd with a thunderbolt in minute 30, but Red Bulls restored their two goal lead thanks Tom Barlow right before half time.
Philadelphia began their fightback through Jack Elliot, with ‘Fafa’ Picault’s goal twelve minutes from time completely a truly remarkable comeback. Odds for the tie were at +300 before the game, though they surely would have looked all the more enticing when Union were 0-2 or 1-3 during the first half of the game.
Union’s super subs combined again in extra time as Fabian sealed a first and most memorable Play Off win. The home side might have done it the hard way, but they lived up to their -109 stakes as favourites. Philadelphia are currently priced at +1100 in our soccer markets to win the MLS Cup and are next in action away to Atlanta on October 24th.
