Julian Carranza's second-half hat-trick proved to be the difference as the Philadelphia Union beat Deportivo Saprissa in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup First Round tie.
The Costa Rican side dominated the opening half-hour of the fixture, getting into good attacking positions on many occasions. However, the final ball was lacking, or the ball would not drop to the desired players as the Union rode their luck. Warren Madrigal should have given Saprissa the lead when a corner directed towards the back post found the head of the forward. Fortunately for Philadelphia, he somehow put his header the wrong side of the post, missing what was a guilt-edged chance.
Despite all of Saprissa's early dominance, it was Philadelphia who were the masters of their own undoing in the 28th minute. Jakob Glesnes was pressured by a Saprissa player just inside the Union half and was forced to play a ball back to goalkeeper Andre Blake. However, Glesnes played a rushed half-volley back towards the Union goal, which wrong-footed Blake and bounced beyond the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give the Costa Rican side the lead.
Following the goal, the visitors did well to take the sting out of the game, limiting Saprissa to next to nothing as they took more control of the possession, keeping the score at 1-0 heading into half-time.
Carranza headed the Union back onto level terms ten minutes into the second half. Daniel Gazdag flicked the ball into the path of Mikael Uhre, who was forced into a tight angle. The Dane played it wide for Kai Wagner, who delivered a pinpoint cross for Carranza to head beyond Kevin Chamorro in the Saprissa goal.
The goal sparked Philadelphia into life, as both José Martínez and Uhre had good opportunities. The latter clearing the crossbar from around eight yards. Saprissa could have turned the tide back in their favour when Glesnes misjudged a ball forward, allowing Madrigal to almost latch onto it. Fortunately, Blake was on hand to clear the ball away before the forward made contact.
Carranza scored his second, giving Philadelphia the lead and the advantage in the tie after 75 minutes. The Union won possession midway inside the Saprissa half before Wagner cut the ball back to Quinn Sullivan on the edge of the box. Sullivan slipped Gazdag through down the left side of the penalty area before the Hungarian squared it to Carranza, who slotted the ball into an empty net, capping off what was a well-worked move.
The Argentine finished his hat-trick four minutes later with the same three players involved. Sullivan latched onto Nate Harriel's clearance and made his way into the penalty area before waiting for support. He offloaded it to the oncoming Gazdag, who played a first-time pass to Carranza, who side-footed the ball into the bottom corner out of Chamorro's reach.
Gerald Taylor set up a nervy ending, scoring in the final minute of regulation. His nifty footwork gave him space on the edge of the box before he rifled a shot into the left corner of the net, leaving Blake rooted to his spot. However, the Union managed to close the game out, taking home their one-goal advantage and three away goals back to Subaru Park for the reverse leg.
Deportivo Saprissa: Chamorro, Taylor, Arboine, Escobar, Díaz (Anderson Gómez 70'), Brenes (Rodríguez 81'), Hernández (Paradela 70'), Mora, Torres, Sinclair (East 57'), Madrigal (Segura 81')
Unused Substitutes: Valverde, Guzmán, Sequeira, Alvarado, Azofeifa, Gómez, Madriz
Philadelphia Union: Blake, Harriel, Lowe, Glesnes, Wagner, Martinez (Bueno 67'), Sullivan (Anderson 90+2'), McGlynn (Rafanello 90+2'), Gazdag, Carranza (Donovan 85'), Uhre (Bedoya 66')
Unused Substitutes: Semmle, Trent, Real, Ngabo, Baribo, Makhanya