Union Omaha came to play. The defending League One champions knew they would face an uphill battle against New Mexico United, but didn’t let that stop them. A stalwart defense in the first half faltered after surrendering a penalty. Unable to withstand an onslaught of chances in the second half, the visitors would fall to United after goals by Talen Maples and Marlon Vargas, 2-0, in the first group stage match of the Jagermeister Cup.
United was inches away from finding themselves down early in their first Jagermeister Cup appearance. The chances were non-existent for both sides until the 25th minute of the match. It was former United player Isidro ‘Chelo’ Martinez that had a dangerous shot. After a turnover by Kalen Ryden, Chelo saw that Alex Tambakis was well off of his line. Despite being at midfield, Chelo took a chance and came inches away from putting Union Omaha ahead as his shot clattered off the woodwork.
Both sides were anxious to get forward in possession, but they were both unable to find any quality chances. United kept trying to play the ball out to the left, but the wind killed the movement on the ball, forcing the Black and Yellow to make some adjustments. Eventually they began to try and keep the ball lower ty try and limit the effect of the wind on the ball.
Even with the adjustment, United had a hard time breaking down the Omaha defense. Out of possession, the visitors were dropping eight men behind the ball and kept their defensive backs all within twelve yards of space, forcing United to go outside in. While they’ve been looking to play that way for much of the season, without space to work in the middle, the chances are few.
In the 42nd, Muwkwelle Akale tried to play a cross into the area from the right side near midfield. His target was Marlon Vargas, who tried to elevate between two defenders to claim the ball. As he did, Dion Acoff came over his back and forced him to ground, giving up a penalty to United. After some deliberation, that man chosen to take the shot was Talen Maples. Maples, who was one of United’s best spot kick takers in 2024, went left and shook the back of the net to put United ahead, 1-0.
Before the half closed, United had a flurry of chances to try and double the lead. Fernando, Akale, and Thomas Pondeca all had chances from inside the area, and each was saved or blocked by Omaha.
Coming out of the break, United was aggressively hunting a second goal and were trying to take advantage of a tiring Omaha back line. With the tired legs, United was able to find space they weren’t able to before. Several times throughout the half, they had opportunities to play on the break and had opportunities for Fernando, Vargas, and Daniel Bruce. But each time they got close, Rashid Nuhu came up big for the visitors.
Nuhu single handedly kept Union Omaha in the match. By the time the 82nd minute rolled around, the Omaha keeper had already tallied seven saves on the evening, most of which came in the second half. Prior to the first half penalty, United had an xG (expected goals) of 0.01. Between then and the 85th minute, that rose to 2.52, meaning that on the shots United had taken, the data said there should have been 2.5 goals. That would go even higher before the match was all said and done.
Heading into stoppage time of the second half, United’s xG pushed up to 2.82 before Vargas finally sealed the win in stoppage time. With seconds left to spare, in the 90th+3 of stoppage time, United had one last chance to break. This time it was Vargas coming off the right and Akale in the center, Akale laid the ball off to the right where Vargas was finally able to beat Nuhu in the second half give United the win, 2-0.
In the moments after the goal, there was a scuffle near the third base foul line and players from both sides got into each other’s faces. Somewhere in the middle of the fracas, Brent Kallman was shown a red card for foul and abusive language. Because of that, Kellman will miss the next Jagermeister Cup match.
Player of the Match
Rashid Nuhu – Even in a loss, the performance by Nuhu was the standout of the night. Nuhu, in his 5th season with Omaha, notched 10 saves on the evening. If not for his performance, United could have easily put a number of goals on the scoresheet.
Up Next
United is in action next when they return to league play on Saturday, May 3rd. That day they will travel south to face El Paso Locomotive FC for potentially the final matchup between the two clubs this season. El Paso has improved since the first league match of the year, eliminating United from the Open Cup in penalty kicks on April 16th. Coverage of the match at Southwest University Park will begin at 6 P.M. with the pregame show starring Adam Diehl and Andy Hageman. Following the pregame,