Medunjanin sets tone

Curtin had high praise for Haris Medunjanin after the team’s scrimmage against Orlando City SC, and fans got to see just how much that praise was deserved against the Rowdies. In the first half, Medunjanin took over the game early and often. He set the tone of the offense and help drive it, creating attacks with multiple passes, some even 30 yards long. Early on in the first, Medunjanin sent passes to Alejandro Bedoya and Fabian Herbers, creating scoring chances that nearly led to a goal. In his first 45 minutes of play, he showed just how important he can be to the Union attack.

Union line change

One of the many differences of preseason compared to the regular season is that there is no substitution limit in preseason games, which Head Coach Jim Curtin took full advantage of. Coming out of halftime, Curtin replaced eight of the 11 starters, leaving only Andre Blake, Jack Elliott and Derrick Jones as the only players to play in both halves. Curtin later made two more substitutions in the second half, bringing his total to 10.

Jones finds twine

In the 87th minute now, still 1-0 thanks to this beauty from Derrick Jones. #DOOP pic.twitter.com/GfLVYx0pWp — Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) February 19, 2017

In the 73’, Chris Pontius intercepted a Rowdies pass and immediately sent a through ball to Derrick Jones, who caught the pass inside. With no one in front of him except the keeper, Jones went in on net, and with some real fancy footwork, went around the goalie to find the open net. Jones scored the only goal of the game, his first ever in a Union jersey, and clinched the victory.