Philadelphia Union found itself it a feisty Eastern Conference showdown, battling Orlando City SC to a scoreless draw at Subaru Park on Saturday night.
Despite cool temperates on the banks of the Delaware River, the match was full of heat with the two Eastern Conference foes combining for 27 fouls. While every blade was glass was a battle ground, both goalkeepers were tested as Andre Blake and Pedro Gallese stood tall to earn a cleansheet. Blake made two big saves, denying Marco Pašalić in the first half and then Martin Ojeda in the second half.
The Union continue their April schedule with their only road test of the month coming up next weekend when they face off against rivals New York City FC. The two will do battle at Citi Field on Saturday, April 12th, with kick off at 7:30PM ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
How The Match Unfolded
Head Coach Bradley Carnell changed his lineup for a third straight match, this time making a swap up top.
For the first time this year, Mikael Uhre began the match on the bench. Instead, Bruno Damiani made his second Union start, joining fellow striker Tai Baribo.
The rest of the lineup was the same as it was last weekend in Miami – Jovan Lukic, Daniel Gazdag, Danley, and Quinn Sullivan made up the midfield, while the backline featured Ian Glavinovich and Jakob Glesnes at centerback, plus Homegrowns Frankie Westfield and Nate Harriel as outside backs. Routine starter Kai Wagner was missing from the matchday roster again this week, sitting out with an oblique injury. Andre Blake started in net again with Andrew Rick as his backup on the sidelines alongside Cavan Sullivan, Jesus Bueno, Alejandro Bedoya, Olivier Mbaizo, Indy Vassilev, Chris Donovan, and Olwethu Makhanya.
While Damiani was the only personnel change from last week, a positional change became apparent come game time. Carnell opted to swap Harriel and Westfield's sides, starting the more senior Homegrown on the right.
As for Orlando City, they were missing two players that weren't part of their official injury report. Neither César Araújo and or Eduard Atuesta made the trip due to tightness -- both players started in their most recent win against LAFC.
25', Scoreless opening 25 minutes | Neither side found the back of the net through the first 25 minutes, though the hosts created more chances with five shots to Orlando's zero. There may have been a lack of goals, but there was no lack of intensity on the pitch with seven fouls committed between the two sides in that opening span.
41', Brick Wall Blake! | Orlando's first shot of the night was a very promising one, bu Blake reminded fans why he was voted MLS Goalkeeper of the Year three times. After a missed tackle by Jakob Glesnes, Martin Ojeda broke away to find himself and Marco Pašalić 2v1 against Nathan Harriel. Ojeda passed to Pašalić for the shot, but Blake dove to get a hand on it, diverting it just in time for Glesnes and Glavinovich to track back and protect him long enough to gain full possession.
47', Nearly the perfect start to the half | Philly came out of the locker room unchanged and continued to push for the opening goal and nearly found it less than two minutes into the second half. Decisive passes from Tai Baribo and Frankie Westfield put the Union facing toward the Orlando goal with a sharp pass out wide to Gazdag near the corner flag to break open the sequence. The Union's all-time leading scorer ripped a cross for a sliding Bruno Damiani but once again goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was properly positioned to make the reaction save.
70', Blake called upon again | Shortly after the Union made their first changes of the night sending on Mikael Uhre and Indiana Vassilev in place of Damiani and Gazdag, Orlando nearly stole momentum with a counter attacking chance. Winning ball in the middle of the pitch, Martin Ojeda grabbed possession on the left side and dribbled into the attacking third waiting for a partner to run into the play. Cutting inside centrally, the No. 10 laid off a pass to Luis Muriel for hte one timer that Blake pushed away.
90', Union push one last time | 15-year-old Cavan Sullivan entered the match with little time remaining in the contest alongside Alejandro Bedoya as the Boys in Blue pushed for the game-winning goal. Replacing his brother as an attacking midfielder in the 4-2-3-1, the homegrown nearly became the second youngest scorer in MLS history but his sliding effort was just off the mark.
