CHESTER, Pa. – For most of the 2015 season, especially in last week’s loss to Columbus Crew SC, the Philadelphia Union have been plagued by two huge problems: conceding soft goals and getting dominated in possession.
Saturday at PPL Park, the Union managed to fix those issues, using a revamped backline to hold Toronto FC without a goal from the run of play while controlling more than 60 percent of the ball.
And yet, all they had to show for it was another loss as their offense completely dried up in a brutally frustrating 1-0 setback to Toronto.
“It’s not a lack of effort,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said. “They are working very hard. We’re just not catching any breaks right now, and we haven’t had the quality that we would like on the final ball and the final run in the box to get on the end of something. So it’s tough times right now, for sure. The group is doing their best to stick together.”
Coming into Saturday’s game, the plan was to try to test Chris Konopka, the former Union goalkeeper, who was making his first MLS appearance in three years.
But the Toronto goalkeeper needed to make only one save to earn the win in the stadium he used to call home, marking the fourth time the Union have been shut out this season.
Part of the reason for that was Toronto's bunkering in after Sebastian Giovinco staked them to a 1-0 lead with a free-kick goal in the first half. But the Union attackers blamed themselves for not exploiting the visitors’ conservative approach.
“They defended with eight guys – it was their plan and they did very well,” said Union winger Sebastien Le Toux, who entered the game early in the second half. “And we were very inefficient offensively. One shot [on target] is definitely not enough, especially at home. Right now we’re not scoring goals, so it’s a bit frustrating.”
The one shot on frame came from Cristian Maidana, who struck the crossbar right before halftime. However, Fernando Aristeguieta provided some life up top after missing the last game with a quad injury.
But in keeping with the theme of the team’s rough and oft-unlucky season, Aristeguieta had a goal called back in the 79th minute because of a very close offside call.
“I guess I was [offside],” Aristeguieta said. “The referee was there. I tried to do my best on that one. I don’t know – I’ll have to see the replay.”
The frustration was certainly palpable with Aristeguieta and many other players in the Union locker room. But despite the team's second three-game losing streak of the season, there was also a little bit of hopefulness thanks to the Union finally taking steps to control possession and improve their passing accuracy.
“It’s unfortunate but I think a positive can be taken out of the fact that our possession dramatically increased this game,” midfielder Zach Pfeffer said. “We had a lot more of the ball and we definitely created a handful of chances at the end of the game. So we have to look at that as a positive. The negative is we didn’t get one and we came away with no points.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
