Union and LAFC draw in wet, windy, and rainy conditions

Tropical storm Ophelia wreaked havoc all night in Chester, PA in what turned out to be an underwhelming 0-0 draw between Philadelphia Union and Western Conference foe LAFC.

The wind and rain remained ever present throughout the entirety of the match Saturday night. Conditions worsened as the match wore on, with the rain intensifying significantly around the 65 minute mark. Wind gusts were sustaining around 20-25 miles per hour prior to the hour mark. Gusts picked up to over 30 mph before the final whistle blew.

But before the rain picked up and muddled play, neither side found the back of the net. LAFC failed to register a shot until the 74th minute. And Philadelphia foiled their own infrequent chances due to players being caught in offside positions.

Philadelphia allowed an opportunity to capitalize on a 2nd minute yellow card to LAFC defender Aaron Long slip away. Long banged into Union forward Julian Carranza on a 50/50 ball and connected late and up high on Carranza. Referee Alan Chapman didn’t hesitate at all and showed Long the early yellow. The ensuing free kick was wasted by Union defender Kai Wagner as he ambitiously attempted a long range shot attempt that sailed over the net.

The Union could have pressed Long far more than they did, which allowed LAFC to avoid a second yellow and subsequent red card ejection. With LAFC superstar Carlos Vela being withheld from the starting XI, the Union failed to capitalize on his absence as well. Vela would make a second half appearance but ultimately did not make a major impact in the attack for LAFC to force a goal.

Philadelphia attempted to utilize the full width of the field while deploying an aggressively high-line throughout the majority of the first half. Triangle passing and quick one-two touch movements allowed Philadelphia to possess the ball in LAFC’s half for the majority of the first half.

However, that possession did not lead to many clear-cut chances. A 39th minute blunder from forward Mikael Uhre saw a beautiful offensive movement squandered after Uhre’s effort sailed high over the net. Daniel Gazdag was responsible for creating the move, finding Uhre sprinting toward the box on a diagonal through ball.

A 45th minute move gave the crowd something to cheer about, but it was short-lived. Alejandro Bedoya leaked free up the right wing and tried a cross into the box for a great offensive chance. However, Bedoya was too eager on his run and was caught offside. Just one minute later, Carranza tried a shot from distance off a pass from Wagner, but Carranza’s shot was blocked.

Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin swapped Carranza for Tai Baribo while LAFC manager Steve Cherundulo yanked Stipe Biuk for Designate Player Denis Bouanga to start the second half.

Following the substitutions, Philadelphia only needed 5 minutes to spark some offensive life. However, yet again, the offside flag from the assistant referee served as the major buzz kill on top of the soggy and cold conditions.

Gazdag headed a rebound effort off the crossbar into the back of the net, ran to the corner flag, celebrated, and the crowd cheered. Gazdag headed home a shot that rang off the crossbar from Baribo, who skillfully collected a pass inside the box and turned quickly to fire off the shot. But VAR overturned the goal – Uhre being offside once more preventing the goal from standing.

Less than 10 minutes later, outside back Nate Harriel created a half chance of his own after blasting a shot from outside the box high and over the net.

Then the conditions took over the match. Wind and rain bogged down the action after the 65th minute. Tropical storm Ophelia added a unique wrinkle to the match in the closing moments.

A sprinkle of second half subs didn’t break Ophelia’s stronghold on the match. Neither team had their sharpest stuff and ultimately neither side had what was needed to break the other down and create sustained offensive pressure.

Both sides enjoyed counter attacking moments, but neither were clinical to bury their chances.

Quinn Sullivan and Chris Donovan entered in the 79th and 80th minutes, but did not create enough chaos up top to grab a late game winner. Philadelphia enjoyed the majority of possession and limited LAFC on the counter. Philadelphia also lobbed eight total crosses thanks to their success in the wide areas in the attacking half. But no Union goals resulted from that high volume of crosses.

Both sides are likely happy to leave with a draw, although Curtin and the Union traditionally seek out only wins at home. The weather ruined the party though and limited both sides’ abilities to create.

As of now, Philadelphia are stuck in 4th place in the Eastern Conference table with 49 points. With a playoff spot clinched, Curtin will aim to keep collecting points and hope to climb up the table a bit more before the playoffs roll around in late October.

Philadelphia welcome another Western Conference foe in FC Dallas on September 27th. FC Dallas will hope to grab road points while they continue battling it out for that last playoff spot in the Western Conference table.