Union, Pachuca finish in 0-0 stalemate in tourney’s Round of 16
CHESTER — The objective in the first of a two-leg tie at home is to get a goal, certainly. But in the face of 15 shots from a team of the caliber of Pachuca, the Union did plenty to just get out of Subaru Park with the zero on the visitors’ scoreboard.
The Union squandered arguably the best chance of the game but otherwise did well to repel the Mexican side, working out a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 match.
The second leg is next Tuesday in Pachuca, and the Union will have it all to do at Estadio Hidalgo. But given the talent of Los Tuzos, the tie could’ve been killed off in the first 90 minutes with the chances the visitors generated.
For a team that had shipped seven goals in its first four games this year and had just one available center back against the best attacking team it may play all season, the clean sheet is reason to be happy.
“Very good Pachuca team, a champion for a reason,” manager Jim Curtin said. “It’s a very good test. Obviously they’re a high-powered attack. They play in a lot of high scoring games. This was the first time they’ve been shut out all season, so something for us to build on.”
The Union also could’ve been up 1-0 had Daniel Gazdag’s chip in the 77th minute been just a foot lower. Gazdag was running at full speed to get to a ball that caromed off goalie Carlos Moreno, when Mikael Uhre made a good near post run to put him off of Quinn Sullivan service. But Gazdag’s chip flighted just inches over the bar.
Pachuca appeared to be headed to the penalty spot in the 45th minute, after Andre Blake made a diving save to keep a ball out after it had caromed off the hand of Nathan Harriel. But the Union were given a reprieve, with referee Ismael Cornejo going to the video review monitor to call a handball on midfielder Pedro Pedraza in the buildup.
The Union were lucky to keep a clean sheet in the first half for the first time in its fifth match of the season. Pachuca, a team that leads Liga MX with 24 goals in 10 matches, showed why it is so potent.
Erick Sanchez rolled a shot wide in the 17th minute, then conspired to squander a 2-on-1 two minutes later by airmailing a shot well high. Oussama Idrissi, whom Curtin called, “one of the best players we’ll play against all season,” orchestrated much of the danger down the left wing, including a 5-on-4 counter that fell to Pedraza. The shot was deflected, but Blake, making his return after a three-game injury absence, dove to save it. Idrissi and left back Bryan Gonzalez posed such a threat that the Union, playing with Gazdag and Sullivan as twin No. 10s, shaded Sullivan to the defensive right side as an extra defender for Los Tuzos to have to go through.
Kai Wagner bailed out Jakob Glesnes, who compounded his 45-yard own goal in Costa Rica with a back pass that left Blake stranded in no man’s land, with a sliding block on forward Salomon Rodon in the 35th. Harriel, deputizing at center back with Jack Elliott (red card) and Damion Lowe (yellow-card accumulation) both suspended, turned in a solid performance in the middle.
“He did a fantastic job, and that’s how a good soccer player should be,” Blake said of Harriel. “He should be able to play anywhere on the backline. So I’m really proud of Nate, the way he stepped tonight. He played it seamlessly.”
“The biggest thing that Jim stressed to me yesterday – the whole staff actually – was do your job, play it safe, don’t overcomplicate it,” Harriel said. “And I’m pretty sure I executed that tonight.”
The Union had two chances, both of which fell to Uhre, before the break. Generally, they struggled without Julian Carranza, who missed out with a thigh strain, Sullivan as a second No. 10 with more defensive responsibilities. Sullivan unlocked the defense in the seventh minute, giving Uhre a shot from the left channel, but Moreno was quick off his line to snuff out the change. Moreno charged off in the 16th when Gazdag angled in a through ball, Moreno forcing him wide and corralling the ball off the Dane’s foot.
The second half was much more sedate. Jack McGlynn, who like Sullivan is the only Union player to have started all five matches this season, had a go from 30 yards out that Moreno trapped with ease. Uhre drew a yellow on Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral in the 48th, being hauled down 40 yards from goal.
Los Tuzos, which received a bye to the Round of 16, may well rue the chances they missed. Idrissi nearly shaped a ball from 30 yards inside the far post in the 55th minute but put it a whisker wide. When Bryan Gonzalez turned Jose Martinez the wrong way in the 87th to get to the backline for a cutback, Idrissi again skewed a shot wide. Blake was forced into three saves, including one on Elias Montiel’s rip from distance in second-half stoppage time.
The winner of this game gets the survivor of Costa Rican club Herediano and Suriname’s SV Robinhood. Herediano won the first leg at home, 2-0, Tuesday.
A year ago, the Union were able to get a 1-0 win over Mexican club Atlas at Subaru Park. But the denial of an away goal was most important, meaning a 2-2 draw in Mexico a week later sent the Union through the quarterfinals. Without scoring Tuesday, the Union still kept the zero, which means any scoring draw in Mexico next week will do the trick.
“Not conceding at home is very, very valuable, which we learned in that Atlas series last year,” Curtin said. “Now if we are able to score a goal there, which we’re probably going to need to do, it means they’re going to have to score two.”