Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The first place Philadelphia Union traveled to Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio to face the fourth place Crew. Philly took an eleven match unbeaten streak in MLS play into the match, while the Crew started the month of June with two consecutive wins after ending May with a 5-1 shellacking by Inter Miami.
A messy and contentious match (eight yellow cards – six to the Union) ended with Union dominating most of the second half but on the wrong side of a 1-0 final.
How The Match Unfolded
Bradley Carnell was forced to change his lineup again, as international duties, injuries, and suspensions meant a depleted the Union side that was still missing four starters and featured two players out of position. Andre Blake returned from Gold Cup duty with Jamaica, and started between posts. Kai Wagner unsurprisingly started at left back, and next to him was Olwethu Makhanya. Jovan Lukić started next to Makhanya in place of the suspended Jakob Glesnes. Captain Alejandro Bedoya started his second consecutive game at right back. Danley Jean Jacques also returned from the Gold Cup and returned to the center of the midfield, where he was joined by Jesus Bueno. In front them were the attacking pair of Ben Bender and Indiana Vassilev. Bruno Damiani once again started as a one of two strikers, where he was surprisingly joined by Markus Anderson. The Union’s bench consisted of keeper Andrew Rick, defenders Isaiah LeFlore and Neil Pierre, midfielders Cavan Sullivan, David Vazquez, Jeremy Rafanello, and strikers Chris Donovan, Eddy Davis III, and Sal Olivas.
While the Union enjoyed the return of Blake, the Crew were forced to trot out backup keeper Evan Bush for the third game in a row due to Patrick Schulte suffering an injury while with the U.S. team. Former Union player Daniel Gazdag started the match for Columbus, still seeking his first Crew goal.
First Half
The Union started inauspiciously, as Bedoya was shown a yellow card just twenty seconds into the match. Thankfully the resulting free kick was headed wide of goal. Minutes later Anderson made a nice run into the box, only to be blocked off the ball which went out for a goal kick.
The match settled into a back and forth battle as Columbus tried to bait the Union into overcommitting on the press, while the Union tried to get the ball behind the Crew’s back line.
The Crew forced Blake into the first save of the game, which was comfortably made in the 11th minute. The 18th minute saw the Crew block a restart with no repercussion, which sent Carnell into a fit with the fourth official. Makhanya closed down a Diego Rossi charge down the left and won a Union throw in as the challenge deflected off Rossi. Moments later Bedoya missed an open net from forty yards out after Bush misplayed a ball. Rossi, limping after his challenge with Makhanya, went down clutching his leg in the 26th minute which both sides used for a water break.
A Bueno foul in the 29th minute led to a free kick which was read well by Danley and cleared before reaching Blake. In the 34th minute Wagner continued his campaign to draw a yellow card by once again kicking a restart into a Columbus player, this time Rossi. Moments later a Columbus restart was headed just wide of the post by Gazdag; regardless, the flag was up. The 40th minute saw a nice chance by the Union broken up in the Columbus box and cleared to safety.
The Union almost survived the half, only to see Columbus score in first half injury time. A nice pass from Amar Sejdic found Lassi Lappalainen get behind Bedoya and he crossed to Mohamed Farsi who one-timed it past Blake in second minute of added time. The Union kept Columbus from playing their game for forty-six minutes, only to concede in the waning moments of the half.
Second Half
A severe weather delay kept the teams in the locker room for an extended break. When the teams returned to the field after about an hour delay, both teams had made significant changes. The Union brought on Sullivan for Bender and Donovan for Anderson, while the Crew made three changes, bringing on Ibrahim Aliyu for Lappalainen, Marcelo Herrera for Evgen Cheberko, and Jacen Russell-Rowe for Sejdic.
Just three minutes into the half Sullivan tried to find Vassilev but the pass didn’t quite connect. Gazdag entered the book for a sliding challenge on Danley in the 50th minute. Three minutes later Gazdag clattered into Bedoya with his studs showing, but escaped without a red card. A long Union throw in was flicked into the path of Damiani, but he headed wide. The Union continued pressing, and were dominating possession through the first fifteen minutes of the half. Moments later Sullivan won the first corner of the match, which was taken by Wagner who tried to play it to Lukić, but Columbus cleared without difficulty. A minute later a chaotic scramble in the Columbus box ended with Darlington Nagbe on the ground.
In the 63rd minute a long ball was played to Aliyu who was almost in on goal before Makhanya won the ball. Moments later the Union made their third change, as Damiani left the pitch for Sal Olivas, making his MLS debut. The Union continued pressing, as Olivas won a ball in the box but couldn’t get a shot off. Moments later, Olivas won another Union corner. Wagner took it again, and the ball ping-ponged back and forth across the goal mouth for the best chance of the game so far, but the Union could not put it in.
Columbus took advantage of the Union press to break upfield, but a Farsi shot from the top of the box was deflected out for a corner. After a few headers and attempted clearances on the resulting corner, Makhanya headed out for another Columbus corner. Blake parried the corner and Union carried it upfield, with Wagner looking for Sullivan at the far post. The Union won a corner and took the opportunity to bring David Vazquez on for Vassilev.
In the 78th minute Carnell made his final substitution bringing on Jeremy Rafanello for Captain Bedoya, who had motioned to leave the pitch. The 81st minute saw Sullivan and Vazquez trade passes as they entered the Crew box, but Sullivan’s parry went over the bar. A beautiful Wagner cross to an open Olivas was cleared by the Crew in the 83rd minute as the Union threw bodies forward.
Blake made a huge save on Aliyu in the 84th minute, which would not have counted as the offside flag had gone up. Rossi almost scored moments before being substituted in the 86th minute as he blocked a Blake punt, but the ball went wide of the goal.
The Union desperately pushed upfield for the remainder of regulation and four minutes of injury time. A last second foul on Danley led to a Wagner set piece, but Bueno headed a foot wide with just seconds remaining. The whistle blew seconds later as the Crew survived a nervy second half.
PSP’s 3 Points
- Streaks: The Union’s streak of 11 unbeaten matches in MLS play came to an end while Columbus maintained its home unbeaten record. The Union had not lost since April 12 in NYC.
- Teenage Movement: Carnell gave MLS debuts to Olivas and Vazquez while Sullivan played the most minutes of his MLS career. The teenagers, plus Donovan, applied a ton of pressure to the Crew’s defense, but to no avail as the Union finished the night with no shots on target.
- A Disappointing But Not Unexpected Result: Before the season started, few would have thought the Union would have 20 points after 19 games. Even the most optimistic fans probably would not have foreseen a 12-4-4 record after 19 matches. Who would have thought that this team could go on the road to a Columbus team that has played in four finals in 3 seasons without four starters and two players playing new positions and still have a shot at a point.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-2-2-2):
Andre Blake; Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Jovan Lukić, Alejandro Bedoya (Jeremy Rafanello 78’); Ben Bender (Cavan Sullivan 46’), Jesus Bueno, Danley Jean Jacques, Indiana Vassilev (David Vazquez 71’); Bruno Damiani (Sal Olivas 63’), Markus Anderson (Chris Donovan 46’).
Substitutes not used: Andrew Rick, Isaiah LeFlore, Neil Pierre, David Vazquez, Eddy Davis III.
Columbus Crew (3-4-2-1):
Evan Bush; Mohamed Farsi, Steven Moreira, Eugene Cheberko (Marcelo Herrera 46’), Lassi Lappalainen (Ibrahim Aliyu 46’); Dylan Chambost, Sean Zawadzki, Darlington Nagbe, Amar Sejdic (Jacen Russell-Rowe 46’); Diego Rossi (Taha Habroune 86’), Daniel Gazdag.
Substitutes not used: Abraham Romero, Aziel Jackson, Cole Mrowka, Derrick Jones, Tristan Brown.
Scoring Summary:
CLB: Mohamed Farsi 45’ + 2
Disciplinary Summary:
PHI: Alejandro Bedoya (yellow card) 1’ PHI: Jesus Bueno (yellow card) 32’ PHI: Jovan Lukić (yellow card) 35’
CLB: Daniel Gazdag (yellow card) 50’
PHI: Kai Wagner (yellow card) 65’
PHI: Sal Olivas (yellow card) 79’
PHI: Danley Jean Jacques (yellow card) 88’
CLB: Taha Habroune (yellow card) 90’
I’m not even a bit mad. They fought hard. Anyone watching would have said the Union was the better team. But these things happen. Pick up. Dust off. On to the next.
Columbus Crew 1-0 Philadelphia Union II
So many kids. They played as one.
Probably wouldn’t have made a difference in the final score, but there was no way Gazdag shouldn’t get shown a second yellow at least on the stomp on Bedoya.
.
And how does Bueno get a yellow for delaying the restart when none of the Columbus players get one?
It’s no small feat that a third choice Union side with truly no notable substitutions outplayed and sincerely took one of the league’s darlings to the wire, on the road, and didn’t compromise their style for a moment along the way.