Uhre the hero as Philadelphia Union advance past Saprissa in thriller

MIAMI, Florida – Mikael Uhre scored in extra time to earn the Philadelphia Union a 3-3 draw with Costa Rican giants Deportivo Saprissa in the second leg of their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One series on Tuesday night at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, giving the home side a 6-5 victory on aggregate.

The visiting Ticos rebounded from their 3-2 first leg loss at home to lead 3-2 after 90 minutes, forcing things to be settled in extra time with the aggregate even at 5-5. Despite playing a man down due to a late red card in regular time, the Union got the decisive score from Uhre to book their spot in the Round of 16 to face Pachuca of Mexico.

A big boost came Saprissa’s way early on as a penalty was whistled in their favor. Luis Paradela assumed spot kick duties and the Cuban duly delivered, converting the penalty in the 14’ to give Saprissa a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Philadelphia Union reaction was almost immediate, and the scoreboard read 1-1 in the 17’ when Julian Carranza redirected a header into net off service from Quinn Sullivan.

The home team kept pounding the Saprissa goal and Sullivan was able to break through with a powerful right-footed shot in the 26’ to make it 2-1 to the Union.

It was Saprissa’s turn to find the back of the net and Warren Madrigal was well-positioned in front of net to even the score at 2-2 in the 28’.

Saprissa’s belief kept growing and in the 62’ they took a 3-2 lead in the match and evened the aggregate at 5-5 on a sensational Mariano Torres free kick.

There would be no goals in the final half-hour, but there was a red card for Philadelphia’s Jack Elliott in the final seconds of regular time, leaving the Union with 10 men for the extra time period.

Playing with 10 men, Philadelphia were full of fight, levelled the match at 3-3 and taking a 6-5 lead on aggregate when a corner kick bounced across goal and Mikael Uhre turned it into net in the 94’.

Saprissa would make one final charge in the final minutes, resulting in a heart-stopping finish as they hit the crossbar on back-to-back shots, the ball somehow staying out of net to give the Union the result they needed to advance.