No goals ... but a ‘most complete’ game
With good news so hard to come by for the Philadelphia Union in 2017, a second consecutive draw Saturday night ranks as a verifiable red-letter day.
The 0-0 draw with the L.A. Galaxy that concluded late Sunday morning on the East Coast represents another uplifting milestone: It’s the first time since the season opener in Vancouver nearly two months ago that the Union notched what can be objectively considered a positive result.
Yes, the Union are a woeful 0-4-4 this season, rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They haven’t escaped their 16-game winless nightmare; their 15 consecutive MLS regularseason contests sans victory ties the fourth-most barren streak in league history. And manager Jim Curtin’s seat may not have gotten appreciably cooler, even if he did transfer some of the fiery pressure to his opposite number for the Galaxy, Curt Onalfo.
In isolation from those mitigating factors, a draw in Los Angeles while keeping a clean sheet is a positive result. It stands in stark contrast to a pair of home draws (2-2 with Toronto March 11 and last week’s 3-3 debacle against Montreal) that featured squandered leads and felt distinctly loss-ish.
On the process side of the equation that will supposedly decide Curtin’s ability to continue in his current capacity, the coach labeled the game as his team’s “most complete” of the season, particularly on the defensive end.
“I think we’ve had some better soccer for sure, in moments, but we haven’t put together a complete 90 minutes,” Curtin said. “So for the first time, I think it’s a 90 minutes where we were intense, we were focused the entire time and we were together. All our movements were as a group, as one unit.”
The Union benefitted from some wasteful finishing by the Galaxy (2-5-1, 7 points), who are in nearly as dire a spot in the standings, but with a heftier wage bill full of playmakers not making plays. A few wayward clearances from the back in the first half went unpunished, and the closest approximation to a highlight in a dour affair came in the 21st minute when Joao Pedro’s 30-yard strike caromed off both posts and improbably out to the waiting arms of Andre Blake, the floppy-haired Brazilian tossing up his hands in disbelief.
Blake made three saves, only a low denial of a fleetfooted Ema Boateng in the 32nd minute particularly taxing. Ceding 63 percent of possession, the Union found themselves defending often, and with Curtin smartly opting for Derrick Jones to replace Roland Alberg after 65 minutes, they bunkered in.
“We talked a lot this week about being organized defensively,” Curtin said. “It started with keeping a clean sheet. That was the goal for the night. We’re only going to get points if we’re able to do that. So, from that standpoint I thought it was a great effort from our guys. Really proud of the group staying together. Obviously a very talented Galaxy team with a bunch of guys that can make a play, and we were able to neutralize them.”
“It was a great point for us,” Blake said. “Great shutout. I think the guys, they fought really hard tonight, and we stuck together, and I think overall it was a great performance defensively. We didn’t get three points but we’re pretty happy with getting a point and getting a clean sheet.”
Both of the Union’s shots on target — a bounding half-volley from Roland Alberg in the 19th, then Haris Medunjanin’s low drive from distance on 68 — drew Brian Rowe into skillful interventions. Largely, though, it was a matchup of two thoroughly struggling teams bereft of many moments of consequence.
Laudable though the effort was, it certainly wasn’t a panacea for the Union’s ills. They have as many points in the Pacific Time Zone this season (two) than in the East. Union fan boards still feature OSHAinspired graphics that indicate the 240-some days that have elapsed since the last winning-related workplace incident.
But it’s something. And in the kingdom of the winless team, the draw is if not king, at least a suitable interim so far from the throne.
“We but the haven’t still haven’t won, last two games we lost,” the ever optimistic Blake said. “So there are still positives, and we’ve just got to keep going. Once we can start stopping teams from scoring goals against us, we’re going to get our chances and we’re going to get our wins.”