Three games and one combined goal for Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew in 2018. If the season ended today, there would be one tightly contested playoff match ahead of these clubs.
Defense finds its footing
Resiliency is what Jim Curtin wanted to see from his squad on Saturday, and he got it. Columbus averages over five shots on goal per game at home and the Union held them to one softie and a late blast from Harrison Afful. The Crew had a clear plan to attack space behind Keegan Rosenberry, and after struggling to lock down Federico Higuain in the first half Philly kept the veteran playmaker off the ball in the second forty-five.
Andre Blake only had to make one big save, and he did it. When Afful drove a strike toward the far corner late in the match, Blake was quick to throw his body sideways and push the ball away from goal.
One thing that stood out for the back four was that both center backs were very intelligent with their 1v1 defending. Both inside the box and on the edges, Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty stayed close to Columbus’ wingers and forced them away from goal.
- READ:Match Recap
Lacking attack
With Borek Dockal only available as a late substitute, the Union found few routes through the Crew defense. Columbus has only given up 11 goals at home since these teams last met early in the season, so it was always going to be difficult to break them down.
Philadelphia may have had zero shots on frame in the match, but Drew Fischer’s decision to call back Jonathan Mensah’s shot on his own goal was strange. The referee considered contact between Cory Burke and Lalas Abubakar enough to call off Mensah’s OG, and let’s just leave it at that.
The rest of the match was a quest to get Bedoya on the ball, and the Crew did a good job keeping Philly’s captain from becoming as influential as he was in the 10 position against Sporting Kansas City.
Set up for the stretch run
Things are about to get extremely interesting in the Eastern Conference. NYCFC is only six points ahead of the Union in third place in the east and the Crew remain one point ahead of Philly in fourth. NYC plays at DC before closing out the season at home against Philadelphia, while the Crew have a soft end to the season with matches against Montreal, Orlando City, and Minnesota United. The Impact will desperately need points against Columbus, and if they get three and NYC continues to falter, the Union still have a chance to move up in the standings.
Philadelphia returns to action next weekend at Talen Energy Stadium when Darwin Quintero and Minnesota United roll into town for a 7:30PM ET kickoff on the back of a 2-1 win over NYCFC.
