CHESTER, Pa. – Because the Philadelphia Union will be playing in the US Open Cup final in three days, interim manager Jim Curtin decided to rest some starters for Saturday’s game against the New York Red Bulls.
One of those starters was Conor Casey, leaving a big hole at center forward. Luckily for the Union, rookie Pedro Ribeiro came to the rescue.
Despite having played in only two MLS games coming into Saturday’s critical contest, Ribeiro bagged his first MLS goal and set up another as the Union battled back from a two-goal deficit to earn a key 2-2 draw.
“He rises to the occasion,” Curtin said. “I can’t say enough about him. He’s going to be a part of this organization for a long time.”
Ribeiro, the 15th overall pick of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, has spent much of the year plying his trade for the Union’s USL PRO affiliate, the Harrisburg City Islanders. But the rookie made his MLS debut last month, made another brief appearance in the Union’s last game and was called upon to play a full 90 minutes Saturday with Casey out of the 18.
It was a tough spot being asked to play as a hold-the-ball target forward at a soggy PPL Park, but the rookie was satisfied – if not exhilarated – by his performance.
“I’ve been getting a little more playing time in practice and I knew some of the guys were going to rest today because of the big game we have on Tuesday,” Ribeiro said. “[Curtin] has confidence in me and I took the opportunity. I could have done a lot of stuff better, like holding up the ball and making plays. But it was a decent result.”
Curtin agreed with Ribeiro’s assessment, admitting there’s a “roller coaster for young players.” But even though the rookie had a little trouble getting his bearing, his first goal – which came late in the first half – was huge for the Union, who had fallen behind by a pair of goals just moments earlier.
“It was a great ball played by [Andrew] Wenger from the left side and the defender came and tried to clear it,” Ribeiro said. “He hit the ball and it hit my foot and it went in. It wasn’t a beautiful goal but I’ll take it.”
Ribeiro didn’t describe his role in the Union’s second goal as beautiful either, but it was still a critical play. With the Union trailing 2-1 in stoppage time, Ribeiro chested down a long ball from Fabinho in the box before getting taken down with an Ibrahim Sekagya tackle just in front of goal.
Sebastien Le Toux scored the ensuing penalty kick to tie the game, get the Union a hard-earned point and leave Ribeiro smiling after the game.
“It was a great ball over the top from Fabinho,” Ribeiro said. “That’s what the coach told me – to try to fight for the ball as they come over the top. The defender came from behind and he got my foot. It was an important PK and it was important to get out of here with one point.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
