CHESTER, Pa. – Heading into this match, one would expect goals aplenty between two high-powered clubs. However, fans who showed up hoping for not just fireworks after the game weren’t treated to much scoring, as the Philadelphia Union and Orlando City played to a scoreless draw Saturday night at Subaru Park.
For Philadelphia supporters, the result might feel more like two points lost than one gained, especially at home.
“Very tricky opponent tonight,” said Philadelphia head coach Bradley Carnell. “[Orlando] came here with a bit of vengeance in mind, with one idea, with one game plan, and that was to frustrate us. And for the most part, everyone played into their hands and allowed them that. So it’s very unfortunate, very disappointing that, one team tries to entertain, one team tries to get off to the game, especially here at Subaru Park, and, just allows the game to peter out. So very disappointing, but I love the clean sheet.”
When the lineups were announced, the only change made by head coach Bradley Carnell from last week’s match against Inter Miami was Bruno Damiani making his second career start and first with Tai Baribo as the two forwards up top. Mikael Uhre was available off the bench for the first time this season.
When speaking about this switch up top, Carnell had this to add about the rotation:
“Everyone’s vying for positions in this competition. And I think we will be having a stretch not too far in the distant future that, we’re going to need to run some rotation. So, you know, we need to get these guys the minutes, and we need to get them progressing in the right ways. And everyone’s put their hand up and wanted to take part in this. And you know, it’s good to see that everyone can, you know, apply the tactics to commit to being a good teammate. And I think everyone showed that and glad for Bruno.”
With Kai Wagner unavailable, Frankie Westfield earned his sixth start of the season, maxing out his off-roster Homegrown short-term loans. Should he appear again next week, he will need to be added to the supplemental roster. And while both outside backs paired up in Inter Miami, there was a switch in position from last Saturday that saw Nate in the left back role and Frankie in the right back role to start the match.
Carnell, when I asked him about the rotation, stated:
“I think Pašalić a certain danger, and we’ve seen his threat so and I think to see the progression of the game, to see Angulo get subbed off at half time, to see Pašalić get subbed off in the second half, it’s testament to Nate and Frankie’s hard work and effort. So we thought through the week that these matchups would be the best of it for Nate to go up against Pašalić . And I think we saw that. You know, for many phases, was the right decision. So I’m glad the way they put themselves about and I’m happy for the back line. We are asked a lot of them in the last couple of days in terms of, you know, just connecting and shifting and the way we get on the ball side.”
Early on, the Union had a solid one-two combination between Damiani and Nathan Harriel, resulting in a shot blocked by Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Moments later, Orlando countered, with Luis Muriel beating Jakob Glesnes inside the box—but Glesnes recovered just enough to allow Andre Blake to make an easy save.
By the 30th minute, the Union had created three strong chances, but the scoreline remained 0-0. Philadelphia pressed forward, generating looks both inside and outside the box, with Gallese spilling a couple of saves.
Orlando City’s first real threat came from a fast break after Glesnes missed a tackle near midfield. The ensuing 2-on-1 forced Blake into action once again, making a crucial save to keep things level.
At halftime, the Union led in shots 9-1 and held 52.9% of possession. Still, despite their dominance, Orlando reminded them with that single counterattack just how quickly the game could flip.
Philadelphia continued to apply pressure in the second half. A cross from Dániel Gazdag narrowly missed Damiani crashing the net. Harriel followed with a header chance, and Westfield found a wide-open Jovan Lukic with a cutback pass, but Lukic’s shot sailed over the bar.
As the half wore on, Orlando settled into the match. In the 70th minute, another counterattack forced Blake into another save, and the rebound had to be cleared by the Union defense.
Indiana Vassilev and Uhre came on for Gazdag and Damiani, respectively. Alejandro Bedoya and Cavan Sullivan later replaced Tai Baribo and Quinn Sullivan.
When asked about the rotation with the strikers and him coming off the bench, Philadelphia Union Mikael Uhre had this to add:
“We’ve got three good strikers, so obviously that’s going to be a rotation. I’ve been dealing a little bit with an injury on my foot. Haven’t been training fully up to speed and been dealing with it quite a lot over the last few days. So he just went and said, like, we worked with everyone on to speed. And again, it’s about the team and winning the games.”
Despite the substitutions and continued efforts, the Union couldn’t find the net. Credit to Orlando’s defense, which limited Philadelphia’s chances in the box and forced them into long-range efforts.
“We pinned them in very good areas,” said Uhre. “We knew what they were going to do. They were going to sit back and try to hit us on the counter. And when you hit a fly back, sometimes hard spaces are tight, so you have to get get the pace right. And we also had some big chances. So if we put one away, it’s a completely different game.”
With the final whistle came a chorus of boos from the home crowd. The Union finished with 63% possession and 20 total shots, but only three on target—a frustrating stat for Carnell and his squad. But when asked about Orlando forcing the Union to take those shots outside the box, the Philadelphia coach had another perspective.
“When every goal kick takes three minutes to get going, and when every foul you know, has a discussion, and when every ball is not placed at the right moment. So we try and keep the momentum, the aggression, the intensity and again, you know, our job here is not just to play a soccer game. I think all the fans pay a decent, fair price for the tickets, and the tickets are for entertainment. And we build a game model to entertain the fans, to be successful, to play with urgency and energy. It’s just tough doing it alone.”
On a positive note, the Union recorded their third clean sheet in seven matches. And while Carnell praised the squad for their effort, he was also quick to mention they should have also gotten 3 points on the night.
“So really happy again. We did so many things right tonight, and the clean sheet is the reward. But yeah, we would have liked three.”
With that draw, Philadelphia moved down to third place at the moment with Sunday’s slate of matches yet to be played at the time of this article.
Philadelphia returns to the road next weekend, traveling to Citi Field in Flushing, New York, to take on New York City FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with the match available on Apple TV as part of the MLS Season Pass.
Main Article Photo Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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