FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England and Philadelphia shared the points after a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
Neither team threatened often in the match as both sides lacked the spark required to pose serious danger in front of goal. Philadelphia came closest to scoring through Amobi Okugo's header off the crossbar a minute before halftime, while New England's attack never really found its stride on the evening.
OPTA SPOTLIGHT: Union dominate the ball, but no cutting edge
Philadelphia enjoyed much of the possession in an uneventful first half, but the Union struggled to create chances until shortly before halftime.
Two opportunities arrived in quick succession due to Antoine Hoppenot's industry. The rookie forward created a corner kick two minutes before the interval by hitting a near post shot that forced Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis to push the attempt over the end line. The resulting corner kick yielded the best chance of the opening stanza as Okugo hit the bar with a header from Freddy Adu's service from the left corner.
New England failed to direct a shot toward goal during the first half as it grappled with the season-ending injury to Saer Sene (torn left ACL suffered in Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Chivas USA). The punchless status quo continued when play resumed as the Union looked the more likely team to score.
Brian Carroll found himself unmarked in front of goal after a rather peculiar series of bounces six minutes after play resumed. Reis rushed off his line quickly to cut down the angle and snuff out the opportunity.
Kevin Alston and Stephen McCarthy finally directed Revolution shots toward goal inside the final half an hour, but only Alston's shot from distance even forced Zac MacMath into a simple save. McCarthy also found a wide open header from 10 yards after pinpoint service from Benny Feilhaber, but directed his shot yards wide.
Both sides saw penalty claims turned down as the match entered the final quarter of an hour, but the waning stages failed to produce the goal required to hand either team the full points on the evening.
The draw extended New England's winless streak to a club-record 10 games and prolonged the Union's current drought without a victory to six matches.
The Revs (6-14-7, 25 points) are next in action against Columbus on Wednesday. Philly (7-13-5, 26 points) have two weeks off before heading to Toronto on Saturday, Sept. 15.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
Rank |
Player |
What We Saw |
1 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/matt-reis"><span style="font-size:12px;">Matt Reis</span></a> |
Bailed out by the crossbar once in the first half, then came up big repeatedly in the second. Looked a lot like his old self. |
2 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/brian-carroll"><span style="font-size:12px;">Brian Carroll</span></a> |
Was the reason Philly's midfield always kept their shape and were so hard to break down. His outlet passing was superb as usual. |
3 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/benny-feilhaber"><span style="font-size:12px;">Benny Feilhaber</span></a> |
Couldn't ask for better service on set pieces, and created plenty of space for his wingers in the run of play. Worked hard on defense. |
