The Philadelphia Union progressed to the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the dying seconds of extra time thanks to Jakob Glesnes' sensational strike. With the game a matter of seconds away from a penalty shootout, Glesnes took it upon himself to bring the ball down and shoot on the half-volley. His effort went up and over Carlos Coronel to send Subaru Park into raptures.
Andre Blake- 7
It was a clean sheet on the night for Blake, who did not have much to do. He commanded his penalty area well when called upon and only had to make one save, which was during extra time. It proved to be a vital save as the Red Bulls were starting to hit the Union on the counter, but Blake did well to close the angle on the one-on-one and make the save.
Alvas Powell- 7
For what seemed to be his first start in forever, Powell did pretty well. He did well to force Coronel into an early save through his strong shot. He did not put a foot wrong in the 123 minutes that he played in and looked to be comfortable with the intensity of the game.
Jakob Glesnes- 9
Another player that did not put a foot wrong as the Union defenders kept the Red Bulls at arm's length for much of the match. New York got in behind a couple of times, but that was when the game was incredibly stretched. Glesnes made a huge block to deny a goal-bound effort in the second half of the game. As mentioned above, he proved to be the match-winner. His sensational strike in the dying embers of the game pushed the Union through to the next round. Man of the match for me.
Jack Elliott- 7
Another player that did not put a foot wrong in the 120 minutes of the action. Elliott had a strong game that involved some nice forward passes. He did not have much to do defensively and similarly kept the Red Bulls attack at arm's length for most of the match.
Kai Wagner- 7
Wagner had a solid game and was a constant threat down the left for the Union. Wagner provided some decent crosses into the box, but could not make a clear cut chance out of them. He was solid defensively too, as the Union's left-hand side remained untested throughout the evening. Wagner and Flach's relationship continues to get stronger.
Jose Martinez- 6
Excluding a couple of bonehead moments in the opening periods of the game, Martinez did quite well. The ridiculous decision when surrounded by Red Bulls players to directly turn into two opposing players was incredibly stupid. Martinez was lucky that it was not capitalised upon because a better team would have punished the Union. Apart from that, he was not as noticeable, which is what you want from a holding midfielder.
Alejandro Bedoya- 7
Bedoya had a very solid game and put in a captain's performance. To last 110 minutes of an intense playoff game at his age speaks volumes to his fitness levels and determination to work hard for the team. He had a couple of exciting moments, the most memorable being him stopping a Red Bulls attack before going beyond two players and starting a Union counter.
Leon Flach- 7
Another player that had a solid game and did his job. Flach worked incredibly hard throughout to make life for the Red Bulls as difficult as possible. He played well for the 86 minutes he was on the field, and the game was more open in extra time because he was not on to provide the right balance in midfield.
Paxten Aaronson- 6.5
Aaronson did well for what was easily the biggest game of life to date, especially at such a young age with a lack of first-team experience. He did well to win fouls all over the pitch and tried to be positive when he could. However, it is no secret that the Union were a better side in attack when Santos was introduced into the game. Regardless, a fantastic learning curve.
Daniel Gazdag- 6.5
Gazdag did have a fairly quiet game in terms of creating chances in the final third. He had a huge opportunity to score in the second half as he was played through on goal. However, instead of shooting, he decided to cut inside twice before being tackled. It somewhat summed up the game in an attacking sense.
Przybylko- 6
Przybylko struggled to get into the game for large parts, but he had a few nice moments and passes to create Union half chances. However, he had the biggest opportunity of normal time and probably should have been the match-winner. After great work by Santos, he cut the ball back to the Polish forward, who skied his prod towards goal. Had Kacper gotten it on target, he'd have scored the decisive goal.
Sergio Santos- 7.5
The Brazilian made a positive impact when introduced onto the field, and the Union attack instantly improved. Santos stretched the game and kept the Red Bulls defenders on their toes. His great footwork to weave his way between the NYRB defence before setting up Przybylko for his golden chance was a particular highlight. He has made a very strong case to start the semi-final.
Cory Burke- 6
Burke was fairly quiet when he came on before the end of the game, but he caused a couple of issues for the Red Bulls. He had an opportunity to win the game before Glesnes' strike but was denied by a fantastic sliding tackle.
Jack McGlynn- 6
McGlynn was unnoticeable for the majority of his time on the field as the Union's defensive shape somewhat disappeared at times in extra time. He was brought on to make the Union more of a threat in attack but did not get on the ball enough to make a big difference. Regardless, a fantastic experience for the teenager.
Bueno- N/A