The Philadelphia Union returned home for their first MLS home match in almost a month to play DC United to a 0-0 draw Wednesday evening at Subaru Park in Chester, PA. Both teams had their share of chances but could not break through as the Union reached their 5th consecutive MLS match without a loss. This was the complete opposite of last season where the Union won both matches against DC by a combined 13-0.
The game started out appearing to have an early score in the 3rd minute when Julian Carranza came streaking up the left side and passed to Joaquín Torres in the box who easily sent one past DC goalkeeper Tyler Miller. The officials thought it was a bit too easy and quickly ruled Torres offside and disallowed the goal. There have been several matches at Subaru Park this season with Union goals waved off as offside so the home crowd barely even had a reaction when the ball found the back of the net, as if they were already expecting it not to count. DC quickly countered in the 7th minute as Mateusz Klich took a long shot from just outside the box, easily saved by Union goalie Andre Blake. Christian Benteke had a chance in the 28th minute taking a long shot from outside the box which appeared to catch Blake flat footed but the shot curled just outside the left post. A few minutes later in the 35th Benteke had another chance blocked in the box by Kai Wagner who failed to clear the ball properly so Theodore Ku-Dipietro picked it up and fired another shot from close range which was saved by Blake. A TV replay caught the moment of Wagner showing Blake some love for his efforts.
Buy Union Merch Here!DC United managed to keep up the offensive pressure in the second half but the Union were not going away quietly and reinforced the brick wall on defense. In the 54th minute Alejandro Bedoya sent a cross from the far right corner over to Matthew Real in the center of the box who had a clear header which just missed outside the right post by a few inches. A short time later in the 62nd minute, Carranza fired a rocket from long range dead center outside the box which Miller tapped away. DC had their best chance in the 69th minute when Gaoussou Samake sent a cross from the left side finding Benteke in the middle of the box for a header which bounced off the crossbar, showing once again that iron can be a goalie’s best friend. The Union had a chance for the last word in the 2nd minute of stoppage time at the end of the game when Andrés Perea took a shot from the center of the box which just missed over the crossbar to preserve the double clean sheet.
News and notes:
- Jose Martinez was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to a lingering hamstring issue. Mikael Uhre is still nursing a knee injury so he was held out of the Starting XI but did come on as a sub in the 57th minute
- Jack McGlynn was also unavailable as he was playing with the Under 20 US national team.
- The Union play their next match at home on Saturday May 20 against the New England Revolution at 7:30. DC plays next at home on Saturday against the LA Galaxy. All MLS matches are streamed on Apple TV+.