After the match, Jim Curtin said that his team played more of a counterattacking style than they normally have this season in their 1-0 victory over Seattle on the road. It was probably a smart move against an opponent that has shown the ability to pass through pressure recently, and sure enough the linking play orchestrated by Nico Lodeiro was thrilling to watch early on.
But the thunderstorm of pressure Philly endured in the opening 20 minutes of the match came down to one major issue, and it was not Lodeiro’s brilliance. The Union, normally so aggressive, were extremely poor at closing the ball down until about the 23rd minute of the match.