The Philadelphia Union more than tripled the shot attempts of visiting Orlando City but were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw on Saturday night.
Despite Philadelphia’s 20-6 shot advantage, Orlando’s Pedro Gallese needed only four stops to keep the Lions’ first clean sheet of the season and hold the Union scoreless for the first time.
None of the Peruvian’s denials were particularly memorable on a night Philadelphia (4-2-1, 13 points) looked uncomfortable despite holding possession 58.2 percent of the time.
The Union have scored only three goals in their last four matches after finding the net 10 times in their first three.
Andre Blake’s three stops for Philadelphia required a bit more athleticism. But even if Orlando (3-2-2, 11 points) posed more threat from its sparse chances, the volume of those opportunities was well below normal for an attack that had scored an MLS-best 15 goals entering the weekend.
Orlando extended its unbeaten run to four matches despite also failing to score for the first time this season.
Philadelphia dominated the ball in the opening 45 minutes but rarely had quality looks at goal.
In fact, Orlando had the most dangerous moment before the break on a counter, when Marko Pasalic’s low, powerful effort forced Blake into his first diving stop of the evening.
The Union had more end product to show for their possession after halftime, but still couldn’t find a breakthrough.
Bruno Damiani looked the most likely to change that but mostly couldn’t keep his efforts on target. That included a 59th-minute header from close range that he sent well over the crossbar, under pressure from a retreating defender.
Orlando had another threatening moment on the counter in the 70th minute, this time with Luis Muriel forcing Blake into a low, lunging stop to his right.
Union coach Bradley Carnell emptied his bench late, even sending on the 15-year-old Cavan Sullivan in search of a winner. But Orlando’s rear guard withstood the pressure with relative comfort.
–Field Level Media
