All build-up, no breakthrough

The Philadelphia Union did everything but score on Saturday night.

They found themselves on the ball constantly, trying to break through Orlando’s defense.

Despite controlling possession and pinning Orlando back for long stretches, the Union walked away with a 0-0 draw, a result that left the locker room frustrated.

“We pinned them in very good,” forward Mikael Uhre said. “We knew what they were going to do: try to hit outside on the counter. But when you hit a five-[man] back, it’s sometimes hard. Spaces are tight, so you have to get the plays right and put one away.”

The Union out-shot Orlando 21-6 and held 63 percent of the ball, but the breakthrough never came. Forward Bruno Damiani, who earned his second MLS start over Uhre, believed the team did everything but score.

“We worked hard, but we didn’t score. That was the only mistake we made,” Damiani said. “We try always to play brave, to play forward.”

Even with a new strike partnership up top, the Union stayed aggressive. Damiani was active early, pressing high and dropping into midfield to connect passes. Although his movements didn’t lead to a goal, he said he was comfortable fitting into the team’s attacking structure.

“I think it’s the team mentality we have that makes it much easier to work with everyone,” Damiani said. “So, I don’t care who is playing with me. I can comply with everyone.”

When Uhre entered in the second half, he found little room behind Orlando’s back line.

“It takes away a lot of the traits that I like to work on, getting in behind,” Uhre said. “Normally, we have one striker taking your movement off the other, but we didn’t really have that.”

Overall, the Union constantly passed the ball around the 18-yard box, hardly finding any space to get around the defense and create significant chances. This forced them into taking long shots, which were ineffective when they needed to score.

“We just shifted one or two mechanisms to play a little bit more on the side, connect one or two passes, and get movement off the ball into the assist zones,” head coach Bradley Carnell said. “I think we saw a lot of that, and that was great to see that the guys were dialed in and able to implement that.”

Still, the Union feel they let two points slip away.

“If you see the match, you’ll clearly understand me. It was two points lost,” Damiani said.