The Philadelphia Union returned to Subaru Park tonight looking to steady themselves against a Columbus Crew side sliding in the wrong direction. While the Crew arrived in Chester having dropped three straight league matches and leaking goals at an alarming rate, the Union are searching for consistency of their own after a turbulent midweek loss in Orlando.

Head coach Bradley Carnell responded with two changes to his starting XI. André Blake returned in goal after missing Wednesday’s match, bringing leadership and stability back to the back line. In front of him, Ben Bender slotted in at left back alongside Olwethu Makhanya and Geiner Martinez at center back, and Nathan Harriel at right back. across the defense. Newly named Haitian World Cup midfielder Danley Jean Jacques partnered Jovan Lukić in central midfield, while Cavan Sullivan replaced Jeremy Rafanello in the attack alongside Indiana Vassilev. Up top, Bruno Damiani and Milan Iloski were tasked with leading the front line as the Union looked to continue their scoring ways after netting three on Wednesday.

After another shaky defensive start put them behind early, the Boys in Blue fought back through Iloski’s second-half equalizer to earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

How The Match Unfolded

Second Half

Three Takeaways

PSP’s Three Points 

  • A Tale of Two Halves: The Union looked a different team for the final 30 minutes. Where were they for the first 60 minutes?

  • It is time to bench Bruno Damiani: I would rather see Alladoh and Anello get more starting time. 

  • Lackluster: Why does it seem that only Sullivan and Iloski (amongst the starters) brought it throughout the second half? 

Lineups

Philadelphia Union (4-2-2-2): 

André Blake, Ben Bender, Olwethu Makhanya, Geiner Martinez, Nathan Harriel, Danley Jean Jacques, Jovan Lukić (Agustin Anello 46′), Indiana Vassilev, Cavan Sullivan, Milan Iloski, Bruno Damiani (Ezekiel Alladoh 65′).

Substitutes not used: Andrew Rick, Finn Sundstrom, Olivier Mbaizo, Philippe Ndinga, Alejandro Bedoya, Jeremy Rafanello, Stas Korzeniowski.

Columbus Crew (4-4-2):

Patrick Schulte, Steven Moreira, Sean Zawadzki, Rudy Camacho, Mohamed Farsi (Andrés Herrera 66′), Max Arfsten, Sékou Bangoura (Amar Sejdić 80′), Andre Gomes (Dylan Chambost 67′), Hugo Picard, Dániel Gazdag (Taha Habroune 80′), Diego Rossi

Substitutes not used: Nicholas Hagen, César Ruvalcaba, Evgen Cheberko, Owen Presthus, Nariman Akhundzada

Scoring Summary:
COL – Hugo Picard 10′
PHI – Milan Iloski (Agustin Anello) 70′                                                                   

Disciplinary Summary:

PHI – Ben Bender (caution) 9’
PHI – Milan Iloski (caution) 26’                                                                                            COL – Rudy Camacho (caution) 30’
PHI – Olwethu Makhanya (caution) 45 + 1′