Miami’s Callender extends Union’s winless streak with scoreless draw
A sound not heard ‘round Chester in a long while resounded Wednesday night at Subaru Park.
Those were, very clearly, boos, from the paying crowd of 15,474. And for the first time in a great while, they were directed squarely at the home team.
The Union looked lifeless early and punchless late in a 0-0 draw with Inter Miami. It’s a sixth consecutive game without a win and a fifth consecutive draw for the Union (5-1-6, 21 points), against what should be an inferior opponent.
At least they didn’t blow a lead this time, right?
“It’s not a good draw,” manager Jim Curtin said. “… This one, we talked about it being an exercise in just mentality. Because the other games are easier to get up (for), let’s be honest.”
No, even that would’ve required some offensive competence in front of goal. Without strikers Mikael Uhre and Julian Carranza, the Union had none. So with their press smothering Inter Miami, leading to an uncharacteristically high 44.5 percent possession, 20 shots and eight attempts on target, it amounted to a big pile of nothing, even against goalie Drake Callender, in just his third career start.
The Union were the last team in MLS that hadn’t been shut out, though that provided little consolation to the home side, on a day where attacking actions fizzled too often, blurring into a shapeless nothingness.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Curtin said. “It wasn’t sharp enough. … It’s a struggle right now to get goals.”
The first half was mainly a waiting game: Which team could be most patient in waiting for the opponent to make a mistake so big that they couldn’t help but score from it?
It nearly worked a couple of times for the Union. Leon Flach tried to toe-poke a shot over Callender in the fifth minute only for the goalie to get his elevated leg to it. Callender then nearly scored into his own net with a shot that caromed of Cory Burke’s face in the eighth. The only moment of true excitement came in the 25th when Jakob Gle- snes, the long-distance free kick artisan, lined up an attempt from 35 yards that he pounded to send Callender scrambling, though the shot thumped high off the outside of the left post.
The Union were down two strikers, with Uhre still nursing a quad strain and Carranza unable to play against his parent club. The Union, already struggling to score, looked like they were down two goal producers.
They came close, only for chances to peter out. After a good move down the right from a turnover, Burke shot it right at Callender’s chest in the 29th minute. A minute later, Daniel Gazdag had a chance that beat Callender but was cleared off the line by Damion Lowe, the center back retreating well to head it away.
Callender was as close to a standout performer as this mess produced. He got low to block Olivier Mbaizo’s bid in the 51st, then dove to his right to collect a Jack Elliott free kick
in the 60th. Elliott started in central midfield for the suspended Jose Martinez.
The visitors, who won here last April, weren’t without chances, though they didn’t seem all that interested in execution, spurning a slew of oddman rushes with little concrete chance creation. The forced Andre Blake into two saves, one in the third minute from Indiana Vassiliev, then in the 55th minute when Bryce Duke found space. Duke was particularly dangerous, blazing a shot over the bar in the 8th
when he got space.
Despite the disappointing result, the Union still managed to rise to first place in the Eastern Conference, though New York City FC is ahead of them on points per game. It is of very little consequence to Curtin.
“It’s the most pissed off first-place team that I’ve ever been a part of,” Curtin said. “Everyone in there is furious, coaches, players everyone. I’ve never been around a team so angry to have the most points in the Eastern Conference.”