Union’s game with Orlando City is postponed by thunderstorms, rescheduled to 4:30 p.m. Sunday

The Union’s game against visiting Orlando City on Saturday was postponed due to thunderstorms. It will now be played Sunday at 4:30 p.m., with TV coverage on PHL17.

The decision was made by Major League Soccer headquarters in conjunction with both teams. Orlando City has a U.S. Open Cup home game on Wednesday, so playing the Union on Sunday will be a hardship. But it was an easier path to take than rescheduling the game for later in the year, or paying part of the game Saturday and dealing with weather interruptions.

“We wanted to get the decision right, and I think they did at the end of the day," Union manager Jim Curtin said. “You want a continuous 90 minutes.”

Not surprisingly, Orlando manager James O’Connor was less pleased.

“We’re here and we’d like to get the game played,” he said on Orlando’s local TV broadcast. But he conceded that "we need to be mindful of the storm, the lightning, it’s obviously very serious.”

Both managers will be able to change their starting lineups and benches if they choose to. Orlando’s Robin Jansson and Sacha Kljestan will serve their scheduled suspensions for red cards earned in the Union’s win at Orlando last Wednesday.

All tickets for the originally scheduled date and time will be honored Sunday. The fireworks show that had been set for Saturday night will instead be held after a future game.

The game was set to be Mexican star Marco Fabián’s first start since May 11. He has missed four of the Union’s eight games since then and played as a substitute in the others.

While talking with reporters after the postponement was announced, Curtin revealed that midfielder Jamiro Monteiro has a sprained ankle. The injury could have been far worse, considering the severity of the crunching tackle from Kljestan that caused it (and got Kljestan sent off).

Curtin said he’s optimistic, but the Union will be cautious. For good reason, since Fabián’s sprained ankle suffered in mid-April has now turned into a nearly three-month saga.

“The results of the x-ray and the MRI were negative,” Curtin said. “Some of the exercises he was doing [Saturday] were incredibly positive. He was changing direction, he was very dynamic in his movements, and the ankle was responding really well.”