Baribo’s brace powers Union past FC Cincinnati, into Leagues Cup Quarterfinal

Philadelphia Union’s visit to Cincinnati on Tuesday night marked the third time the two sides had faced off in single-elimination matchup in three years. This time, they competed for a spot in the Leagues Cup tournament’s Quarterfinals with Head Coach Jim Curtin taking on his former assistant with a full-strength squad including Andre Blake in net for the first time against Cincinnati this season. Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, and Olivier Mbaizo made up the defense while Jose Martinez, Alejandro Bedoya, and Jack McGlynn made up the midfield alongside Daniel Gazdag who left their last match with an injury but proved healthy enough to make the start. Mikael Uhre and Baribo started up top – and it was the 29-year-old Danish forward who ramped intensity early.

Philly thought it had opened the scoring in the fourth minute when captain Bedoya booted a one-touch pass from the sideline, finding Uhre in 1v1 with Roman Celentano in net. He ran onto the ball, shooting it in stride but after a lengthy VAR review, the officials ruled his early effort offside by a matter of inches.