Union blow a 2-0 halftime lead in 2-2 tie with first-place Cincinnati

Coming into the night, the Union playing first-place FC Cincinnati to a 2-2 tie might not have seemed so bad on paper. But the way this one happened was problematic.

After José Andrés Martínez’s 23rd-minute long-range blast and Dániel Gazdag’s 37th-minute penalty kick gave the Union a 2-0 halftime lead, Cincinnati’s Aaron Boupendza scored in the 49th and Brandon Vazquez equalized in the 76th.

The result left the Union (14-8-5, 47 points) in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, while Cincinnati (17-4-7, 58 points) remained firmly entrenched atop not just the East, but the overall leaguewide standings.

Union manager Jim Curtin suspected Cincinnati would play its usual 5-3-2 formation, so he lined up his side in a 5-3-2 of its own. With Alejandro Bedoya suspended because of yellow card accumulation, the midfield trio was Martínez, Jack McGlynn, and Gazdag.

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It looked innocuous enough: McGlynn was being marked on the left side of midfield and Martínez was wide open in the middle, so the former passed to the latter. Cincinnati’s defense chose not to step up toward Martínez, assuming nothing would come of leaving a guy who likes to shoot from long range wide open.

That was a bad assumption, especially for a team coached by former Union assistant Pat Noonan. Martínez took one touch to settle the ball, approached it 25 yards from goal, and blasted it past Roman Celentano at the River End of the stadium.

It was Martínez’s third career goal for the Union, all scored in the regular season — and all scored this year. First was his even-more-epic blast in June in Orlando, then a close-range volley against New York City FC in July in Chester, and now this one.

Martínez’s tally tied long-ago bust striker Jay Simpson (and many other players) in the Union’s all-time record book. So what for now if it’s a long way down the page.

Referee Ismail Elfath whistled 13 fouls against each team in the first half. He gave out seven yellow cards along the way, to the Union’s Jack Elliott (19th minute), Gazdag (21st), and Damion Lowe (42nd), and Cincinnati’s Matt Miazga (18th), Celentano (35th), Yerson Mosquera (36th), and Nick Hagglund (45th +4).

Celentano’s was for tripping Gazdag in the box on a breakaway, and once Elfath confirmed Gazdag was onside, he pointed to the spot. Mosquera then drew his booking for stepping into the box to delay Gazdag’s attempt. He could have had another for running his mouth at Elfath to protest, even though everyone saw the offense clearly.

Eventually, Gazdag stepped up and dispatched his 19th goal of the year. It was his 10th penalty kick goal of the regular season, setting a new MLS record.

For all the nice things Curtin and Noonan say about each other, this was far from the first time their players haven’t gotten along. The Union and Cincinnati aren’t talked about as rivals in the way the Union and Red Bulls are, or that Cincinnati is with Ohio neighbor, Columbus. But it’s gotten to the point where they should be.

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Noonan made two substitutions at halftime, sending in Boupendza for former Union striker Sergio Santos and Ian Murphy for centerback Hagglund. Boupendza promptly scored on a far too easy breakaway, and put the ball in the net again a minute later but was offside.

Boupendza probably would have started this game had it not taken him longer than planned to return from playing for Gabon’s national team. He ended up meeting his Cincinnati teammates in Philadelphia on Friday.

Vazquez showed again why he’s in the U.S. national team pool even though he doesn’t play in Europe. After Nathan Harriel was slow to move to a backward pass from Julián Carranza on the right wing, Boupendza pounced and crossed for an onrushing Vazquez in the middle. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound, 24-year-old striker raced past Damion Lowe, then hit a shot that deflected off Lowe and over Blake as the two collided.

As with the first goal, it was a moment when the Union’s well-rehearsed 3-5-2 setup did not look good. That will give Curtin some things to think about, especially at home.

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Mosquera finally earned his second yellow and a dismissal for a foul on Wagner in the 83rd. Tai Baribo had already subbed in for Mikael Uhre by then, and Chris Donovan replaced Lowe in the third of eight minutes of second-half stoppage time.

But the Union’s man advantage lasted only a minute longer, as Elliott drew a second yellow card for going over Vazquez’s back at midfield. He’ll miss Wednesday’s visit to Charlotte FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, free), though with Los Angeles FC coming to Chester next Saturday (7:30 p.m., Appple TV, free), the midweek rest might not be the worst thing.

Three other Union players got yellow cards in the second half, bringing Elfath’s total dished out on the night to 12: Carranza (63rd), Kai Wagner (74th), and Baribo (85th).