Match Report: Philadelphia Union 0-0 Columbus Crew

Photo Credit: Charlotte Thomas

By: Mike Servedio

(Editor’s Note: This recap comes courtesy of our friends at The Philly Soccer Page. You can check out the original article here. 

Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew played out a dour scoreless draw in front of a sparse crowd attending a 2 p.m. matinee at Talen Energy Stadium.

Jim Curtin made just one change to the team that defeated New England two weeks ago, with Borek Dockal making his first appearance for the Union, replacing Anthony Fontana.

Philadelphia did well to keep possession in the opening quarter of the match, but chances were few and far between against an organized Columbus defense. The best chance in that period came when Keegan Rosenberry’s whipped-in cross was corralled by C.J. Sapong and left off for a shot from Dockal. But the effort was rushed and sailed over the bar.

The Crew would have a decent chance in the 27th minute. Federico Higuain’s deft pass in the midfield freed Gyasi Zardes down the center of the pitch, but pressure from Jack Elliott was enough to put off the striker. The ex-Galaxy man fired his shot into River End.

There were chances at either end to start the second half. First, David Accam lined up a shot from 18 yards that was on target, but did little to trouble to Zack Steffen. Then, Zardes headed just wide of Andre Blake’s goal as Columbus struck on the counter.

Further chances were hard to come by as the game wore on. Cory Burke was a lively replacement for Fabian Herbers after he entered in the 63rd minute. But it was only half-chances and close calls for either side as the game ended scoreless.

After another bye week, the Union are next in action when they travel to Colorado to face the Rapids. Kickoff on March 31 is at 9 p.m.

Three points

• Slow start for Dockal. The new man struggled to find the game for most of his 77-minute outing against an organized Columbus team. He’ll look to be more involved in two weeks in Colorado.
• Not much action for Accam. David Accam found himself stifled by the Crew defense, with little room to run at defenders and touches in the final third hard to come by.
• Another clean sheet. Auston Trusty and Jack Elliott looked sharp and kept the Crew at bay for much of the match. While there will be disappointment in not creating more going forward, the defense has started the season with two clean sheets.

Lineups

Philadelphia Union

Andre Blake, Keegan Rosenberry, Jack Elliott, Auston Trusty, Fabinho (Ray Gaddis 45′), Haris Medunjanin, Alejandro Bedoya, Borek Dockal (Anthony Fontana 77′), Fabian Herbers (Cory Burke 63′), David Accam, C.J. Sapong
Unused Subs: John McCarthy, Richie Marquez, Jay Simpson, Derrick Jones

Columbus Crew

Zack Steffen, Harrison Afful, Lalas Abubakar, Jonathan Mensah, Milton Valenzuela, Pedro Santos, Artur, Cristian Martinez (Niko Hansen 73′), Wil Trapp, Federico Higuain, Gyasi Zardes
Unused Subs: Josh Williams, Ricardo Clark, Mohammed Abu, Luis Argudo, Hector Jimenez, Jon Kempin

Scoring summary

Disciplinary summary

CLB: Artur — 53′ (unsporting behavior)
PHI: Alejandro Bedoya — 76′ (unsporting behavior)
CLB: Federico Higuain – 79′ (unsporting behavior)
PHI: Keegan Rosenberry – 88′ (unsporting behavior)