Photo: Paul Rudderow

Take what you will from Philadelphia Union’s 1-1 road draw with Vancouver on Saturday.

The first half saw a home team with just one win and a clear talent deficit focused primarily on defensive solidity, while the visitors were similarly focused, given their 3,000-mile road trip saw several regulars staying behind in Pennsylvania.

Then a goal off a corner kick opened the match wide after halftime, when the Union stole a goal through some successful high pressing.

The takeaways? Well, here are a few.

Score one for the high press

Vancouver wanted to play out of the back. Even with the Union pushing at least three players up high on Vancouver’s goal kicks, Whitecaps goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau still willingly passed short to his center backs.

So when defensive pressure from Fafa Picault and Jamiro Monteiro forced a turnover that Monteiro’s subtly but perfectly tipped pass turned into a breakaway goal for Kacper Przybylko, it didn’t surprise.

Check out PSP alum Adam Cann’s breakdown of the play here. He explains it perfectly, including the Monteiro pass, which was easy to miss during live play. (In fact, Vancouver’s broadcasters described it as a wayward back pass from Ali Adnan.)

Another good defensive effort, another set piece breakdown

Some impressive defensive stats for you:

• Philadelphia entered the game having allowed just 68 shots through eight games, and that 8.5 shots per game rate was the league’s best on the defensive side. (Atlanta has nudged the Union back to second, thanks to Colorado parking the bus against the Five Stripes and then the coach driving it over his players after the game.)
• The Union lead the league in tackles per game, with 23.
• The Union’s 10.7 fouls per game is third fewest in MLS.
• The Union’s 1.1 yellow cards per game are the second fewest in MLS. (Red cards, alas, are another story.)

Aside from Marco Fabian, the Union have been a disciplined defensive team this season.

That said, it doesn’t mean as much if you defend well all game and then blow your marks on corner kicks and free kicks, which the Union have done a bit of this year.

On any corner kick, there are usually three players your team must prioritize: The opposing target forward and two center backs. For Vancouver, there was no target forward, so it was just the two.

Still, there was Doneil Henry getting free in the box, with Auston Trusty a step behind after tripping over Olivier Mbaizo while trying to circumvent the trio of Vancouver players strategically bunched up near the penalty spot to throw off the Union’s man marking.

Some observations on players we haven’t seen a ton of

Beyond that, we can try to conjure up some analysis, but let’s be real here: That was a defensively tight first half, followed by a second half of guys running wild and probably awfully tired.

A more valid series of takeaways may be some observations on some Union players we haven’t seen much of, as three players were starting their first games of the year.

• Matt Freese: The 20-year-old homegrown player got the start ahead of Brazilian import Carlos Miguel Coronel. He showed fairly well in the shot-stopping department, but his distribution looked extraordinarily shaky on restarts — and often quite short. His distribution appeared stronger when he had a live ball at his feet and plenty of space, but it also seemed that Union players were avoiding back passes to Freese in a way they do not usually do with Andre Blake. Freese’s performance wasn’t bad for such a young goalkeeper, but it paled in comparison to what John McCarthy brought to the table. Between Blake’s injury and the Gold Cup, the Union may seriously regret letting McCarthy go.
• Olivier Mbaizo: The Cameroonian finally got his first start of the year after many expected him to open the season as the starting right back. Mbaizo then proceeded to show why he hasn’t been starting. While he had some solid last minute defensive cleanups deep in Union territory, he was wasteful in attack, sending in errant crosses almost by default: He completed 1 of 11 crosses on the day, the most attempts by any Union player in a game this year.
• Kacper Przybylko: The Polish striker got his first goal of the year, and his finishing boots looked as accurate as any Union player this year. The goal was perfectly taken, and he nearly got a second later on, but for a good save by Crepeau. Other than that, he continued to show that he is an active and physical defensive presence, so much show that the contrast makes Cory Burke’s defensive effort look even poorer in retrospect. He also played more of a role in the Union’s possession game than Burke typically does. That said, he looks like he might match Burke for the occasional clumsiness. It was a good showing by Przybylko, one that should earn him more time but not yet put anyone at ease about the Union’s lack of a top end No. 9.
• Jamiro Monteiro: The more we see of Monteiro, the more we set in stone the notion that the Union must find the funds to lock down his full transfer. Monteiro may be the most active midfielder this team has ever deployed. His transition defense helps erase the Union’s prior fatal flaw — opposition counterattacks — his pressure rattles opponents, and his quality on the ball is just so fun to watch. He’s a keeper, without question.

And a few notes on the guys we think we know

And let’s spare a few notes on some players that Union observers may take for granted at this point.

• Haris Medunjanin: Talk about his defensive flaws all you want, but Medunjanin’s ability to maintain possession against pressure deep in midfield is elite in MLS. Watching him effortlessly thread his way through opposing defenders to crack open their press is truly a thing of beauty to watch. More than that, the entire Union possession game is predicated upon his ability to do that.
• Auston Trusty: Yes, it’s clear Trusty is prone to the occasional big misstep, and his default to hopeless long balls when in trouble in possession has become an obvious scouting point for opponents. But don’t overlook this: Trusty is as good an athlete as there is playing center back in MLS, he’s left-footed, and he’s just 20 years old. That open field tackle on the second half breakaway? Wow.
• Derrick Jones: Made the 18. Didn’t play. The Union should trade him while he still has value.