The Philadelphia Union produced a clinical display to come from behind to defeat Orlando City 4-2 on the opening night of the MLS season.
Tai Baribo (2), Daniel Gazdag and Mikael Uhre were the Union's goal scorers, as they scored with all four shots on target in Bradley Carnell's first game in charge of the team.
It was a difficult start for Carnell when his side fell behind after eight minutes. Philadelphia was left exposed down the lefthand side, which allowed Martín Ojeda to slip Marco Pašalić through into the penalty area. The Croatian international made no mistake, slotting a left-footed shot beyond Andre Blake.
Despite the early setback, the visiting Union settled into the game, growing in confidence as they began to take control of the possession. In doing so, they took the sting out of the game, thus calming down what was an energetic crowd. They were rewarded for their efforts in the 23rd when Tai Baribo brought them back onto level terms.
The goal came from Quinn Sullivan's pressing. The 20-year-old, who signed a U22 deal in the offseason, won possession 25 yards from the Orlando goal. The ball eventually made its way out to Kai Wagner down the left, who delivered a low centre into the six-yard box, where Baribo was on hand to tap into the back of the net.
Sullivan continued to be heavily involved, as he assisted the goal that put the Union in front three minutes after the interval. He received the ball on the left touchline before cutting inside and curling a perfectly weighted cross towards the back post. Daniel Gazdag was on the end of that ball, somehow squeezing a volley beyond Pedro Gallese at his near post. The relentless Union were not done yet, as they added a third on 51 minutes.
Mikael Uhre capitalised on a heavy touch by Rodrigo Schlegel on the edge of the penalty area, thumping a low drive into the middle of the goal, with Gallese caught off guard and failing to recover on time.
Orlando came close to pulling a goal back twice. The first came when Blake pushed Ojeda's powerful shot over the goal. The second time, the woodwork saved the Union, as Ojeda's ball towards the back post found an unmarked Alex Freeman, who saw his header rattle the crossbar.
The hosts were punished for their lack of clinical finishing, as the Union extended their lead thanks to another piece of calamitous defending. Two players collided 25 yards from the goal, which took an Orlando defender out of the game. That, in turn, allowed Baribo to enter the penalty area unmarked. Debutant Frankie Westfield evaded one sliding challenge before delivering a low cross for Baribo, who did enough to put the ball into the far bottom corner of the net.
Orlando threw everything they could at Philadelphia as they went in pursuit of trying to get themselves back into the fixture. Blake had to be at full stretch to claw Luis Muriel's header wide of the post. Muriel should have scored in the 79th minute when he volleyed against the crossbar from a couple of yards out. However, Pašalić was on hand to convert the rebound at the second attempt.
Despite Orlando applying plenty of pressure to the Union goal in the late stages, they could not find a way back into the game, as Bradley Carnell's team saw out a 4-2 victory.
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