Considering where they are in the standings and how badly they needed three points to make a late playoff push, the Philadelphia Union know they let an opportunity slip away in Orlando.
But instead of fixating on all of their missed scoring chances in Saturday’s scoreless draw with Orlando City, the Union were instead mostly focused on a big-time defensive performance that allowed them to earn a rare road point.
For the game, the Union allowed only one shot on target en route to their first shutout in a month.
“We talked to the guys before the game started about having a professional approach to the game,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said. “We talked about everyone having a good game; no one needed to be great. If everyone has a good game, that’s usually when we get points. And I thought everyone put in a good shift. We limited them to one shot on goal in an incredibly tough atmosphere. It was a very difficult environment, but I thought our guys held up well.”
The Union have given up a league-worst 40 goals this season, including three in each of their past two games. So few people probably expected the Union to register a shutout, especially on the road, where the team had lost eight of 11 games coming in.
Philly’s defensive performance was even more impressive when you consider they were missing captain Maurice Edu (groin) and gave starts to three players coming off injuries: center backs Richie Marquez and Steven Vitória and defensive midfielder Michael Lahoud.
But the Vitória-Marquez center back pairing held up well, while Lahoud and Brian Carroll were able to neutralize Kaká in the midfield, as Orlando’s only shot on target -- from red-hot rookie Cyle Larin -- did not threaten goalkeeper John McCarthy.
“A clean sheet is good,” Curtin said. “Everyone gets credit from that. From C.J. [Sapong] working hard up front to our wide guys pressing well to [Carroll] and [Lahoud] doing a good job following Kaka, [Tranquillo] Barnetta and Chaco [Maidana] putting in the dirty running.... I’m happy with that. Our back four performed very well. Steven Vitoria stepped in after being out for a while and did a good job. A zero on the road is positive and something to build on.”
Marquez, who had missed the last two league matches with an ankle injury, was pleased with his new partnership with Vitoria, who hadn’t played since April, saying the backline “gelled well.”
A less-pleasing part for him came in the 87th minute when Orlando ’keeper Tally Hall made a huge save to stop a Marquez header from going in, one of four stops he made over the night.
The Union also saw a shot go off the crossbar in the first half and other great scoring chances go wanting in the final 20 minutes, which of course added a layer of disappointment to the result.
“I just wanted to get good contact on it and then put it on frame,” Marquez said of his near-miss. “[Hall] was just there at the right spot. It was unfortunate. I thought it was a goal.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
