Host Lions lose 1-0 to Union

Andre Blake had his ninth shutout of the season and Daniel Gazdag scored as the East-leading Philadelphia Union beat host Orlando City 1-0 Saturday night in MLS action.

The game was driven by two critical VAR calls, the first overturning an on-the-field offside to give the Union the lead. Late in the game, Orlando City defender Antonio Carlos appeared to be pulled down on a corner kick, but the play was deemed to not be an awarded penalty after a lengthy review.

Gazdag’s goal came in the 39th minute to secure the win for the Union (11-2-9). Jakob Glesnes got an assist on the goal.

“I am not going to blame that [VAR call],” Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja said. “We will take the responsibility of the result. We have to be very clear to say that we had some chances, especially in the first half where we have to go up in the game. [Against] a team that defends well, you have to be polished. We couldn’t do it.”

Orlando (8-8-6) outshot the Union 12-9, with a shot on goal apiece. Blake saved both of the shots he faced for the Union.

“It was a messy game for me,” Pareja said. “I don’t think it had a lot of continuity and [a lot of ] stops in the game. Players would lay on the ground. That frustrated us more and we lost clarity to create more and the game became messy because we didn’t have any flow. The game would stop every three minutes. It was difficult. The second half was frustrating.”

At the 34-minute mark, center back Robin Jansson surpassed 10,000 minutes played for Orlando City, becoming the first player to accomplish the milestone in Lions history. Saturday marked Jansson’s 113th all-time appearance for the Lions, which is second all time in the team’s MLS era.