Chester – It was a beautiful May afternoon along the Delaware River in Chester as a battle between the top two teams in the MLS Eastern Conference took center stage on Saturday. While the Union had their opportunities, including goals from Tai Baribo and Frankie Westfield, a late stoppage-time goal from the Columbus Crew turned what could have been an amazing evening into a disappointment, as Philadelphia and Columbus played to a 2-2 draw at Subaru Park.

“I think through the week, everyone was anticipating a big clash between two teams in the east and two very good teams. And I think pound for pound, we held our own. Very proud of the boys that we go ahead and unfortunately, can’t bring it over the line is gut wrenching, disappointing. On the one side, I’m so happy for the boys that they stuck to the game plan, and I appreciate their effort. And you know, we had many chances to actually maybe get the third or the fourth. So, credit to them for coming back. And it just was a great advertisement for the league, I think. And yeah, it feels like we lost two points here tonight.”

Bradley Carnell made a few changes on Saturday night after the club’s third game in eight days. Andrew Rick started in net for the second consecutive game, as Andre Blake was still “managing an injury,” according to Carnell on Friday. After the match, Carnell declined to comment on the status of his keeper opting more to focus on the match that had just ended.

On the back line, Frankie Westfield returned to the starting eleven, as did Kai Wagner. Nathan Harriel started at center back with Olwethu Makhanya on the bench. The midfield returned to the usual lineup seen prior to the U.S. Open Cup. Up top, Tai Baribo and Bruno Damiani made their second start of the season together—the first since the NYCFC match.

Prior to kickoff, during Columbus’s player introductions, Subaru Park erupted in cheers when Daniel Gazdag was announced. Then, after the national anthem, Philadelphia gave a nice tribute to the former midfielder.

Early in the match, the Union had a breakdown down the right side by midfielder Quinn Sullivan, but the ball was cleared by the Columbus defense. Minutes later, the Union had another opportunity down the right when Frankie Westfield dumped it off to Danley Jean Jacques, who passed it into the box, but Bruno Damiani couldn’t get a foot on it. The Union kept the intensity up as Sullivan broke down the left side and delivered a beautiful ball to Tai Baribo, who put it in the back of the net. Union fans thought it was an early 1-0 lead, but Baribo was ruled offside.

Columbus’s first big opportunity came around the 10th minute, as Aziel Jackson broke through the back line and fired a shot on net. The young goalkeeper Andrew Rick came up with a big save to keep the match scoreless.

In the 19th minute, Indiana Vassilev played a nice ball into Damiani, who dumped it off to Baribo, but the Israeli forward couldn’t control it.

The Union kept the pressure on into the 30th minute as the match began to slow. A turnover in the Crew’s defensive third gave the Union a chance, but Baribo’s shot was tipped over the net by Crew keeper Patrick Schulte.

As the halftime whistle approached, the Union made one last push. Rick delivered a long ball to Quinn Sullivan over the top of the Crew defense. Sullivan made a run into the box and crossed it onto the foot of Baribo, who scored his 8th goal of the season just before halftime. While it looked like he might have been offside, VAR allowed the goal to stand without further review.

On the assist there, Quinn Sullivan picked up his MLS leading 7th assist of the season. And for Goalkeeper Andrew Rick, his picks up his first assist and became the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history to record an assist at 19 years and 100 days old.

In the first half, both teams registered 7 shots, but Philadelphia had more on target (4-1). Defensively, the Union led in interceptions and tackles with 7. Overall, while the Union might have had another goal, the same could be said for Columbus—this match lived up to the hype in the first half.

The Union had two chances in the first five minutes of the second half in front of the River End. Indiana Vassilev had an open shot at the top of the 18 that sailed high, and moments later Baribo had a chance inside the box that was blocked.

Columbus made their first subs shortly after: Malte Amundsen for Yevhen Cheberko and Jacen Russell-Rowe for Aziel Jackson. It was a smart move by Wilfried Nancy, as Columbus tied the match in the 61st minute when a cross from Mo Farsi found the foot of Max Arfsten to level the score at 1-1.

But the Union weren’t done. Just three minutes later, in the 64th minute, a shot was blocked and deflected to a wide-open Frankie Westfield, who blasted a bullet into the back of the net for his first MLS goal.

“I would have loved it to have been the winning goal,” Carnell said, “and that’s the thing we work so hard to win these games and to to go on the training field Monday through Friday and put it on display on Saturday. And unfortunately, when you get a goal like that, it’s a game winning, worthy goal. And unfortunately, we couldn’t celebrate with Frankie tonight, but I’m proud of the boys nonetheless.”

As for Frankie, he was happy with the goal but knew that it would have been even more magical if there was a victory attached to the goal.

“I mean, unlucky, that wasn’t a winner. But I’m very happy with how it went in. And it was a great hit, great banger. Felt really good when it went in. I didn’t know what to do when I was celebrating, just kind of blacked out. But hey, I was very happy for myself and not about the result (of the match).”

On the play Tai Baribo picked up his first assist on he season reaching 20 Goals/Assists for his MLS Career. Picking up the secondary assist, Danley Jean Jaques, registered his second assist of the season which extends his goal or assist streak to 4 games.

Philadelphia’s first subs were Mikael Uhre for Bruno Damiani and Olwethu Makhanya for Baribo. Both teams continued to jockey for position, with the Union pressing hard for a third goal.

Next for the Union, Chris Donovan came on for Sullivan and Jesús Bueno replaced Danley Jean Jacques. For Columbus, Daniel Gazdag was subbed off for Abraham Aliyu. Carnell’s final change brought on Jovan Lukic for Jeremy Rafanello, while Nancy’s last moves saw Lassi Lappalainen replace Darlington Nagbe and Amar Sejdic come on for Max Arfsten.

As the match entered stoppage time, Philadelphia had a golden chance. Chris Donovan made a run down the right side and—though he might have taken the shot himself—crossed into the box to Mikael Uhre, who couldn’t finish a crucial opportunity that would have sealed the match.

And as often happens in soccer, a missed chance can be punished. In the third minute of stoppage time, off a set piece, Diego Rossi sent a cross to the far post where Sean Zawadzki finished to bring Columbus level at 2-2.

As the final whistle blew at Subaru Park, what could have been a major statement win for the Union fizzled out. While they did earn a point against one of MLS’s top teams, this draw felt more like a loss, dropping the Union from second to third behind Cincinnati and Columbus.

It’s margins like these that separate good teams from great ones. The Union have proven through 12 matches that they’re very good, and if they stay healthy, they’ll be a playoff team. But failing to put teams like Columbus away at home could be what holds them back from achieving something special this year.

How the positive side, while the Union dropped 2 points tonight, this was the first time this season that they dropped points. And when you look at 2024 when Philadelphia dropped 27 points, this is a very positive sign of improvement as only Columbus remains as a team that has yet to drop points.

Fortunately, the Union won’t have much time to dwell on what should have been. They’re back in action Wednesday as the LA Galaxy come to Subaru Park for Philadelphia’s third straight home match in May.

The Galaxy were embarrassed 7-0 on the road against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, so if Carnell and company can rebound from Saturday’s disappointment, LA might be the perfect opponent. Kickoff is set for Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30 PM, and the match will be streamed on Apple TV as part of MLS Season Pass.

Main Article Photo Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union