The Union clinch a playoff berth and hold MLS-leading Nashville to a scoreless tie
It was an ugly game for both teams, with lots of lineup rotation. But the point gained from the first shutout in over a month will come in handy the rest of the way.
The Union clinched a playoff berth on Wednesday, then took a game they were expected to lose and scrapped their way to a scoreless tie at league leaders Nashville SC.
It happened in that order because of Red Bull New York’s 3-2 loss at New England, which finished while the Union (13-11-8, 47 points) were at halftime. (Coincidentally, the Revolution’s winner came from former Union playmaker Dániel Gazdag.) But the point gained from the first shutout in over a month will come in handy the rest of the way.
With Milan Iloski and Cavan Sullivan injured and Bruno Damiani suspended for yellow card accumulation, interim manager Ryan Richter turned to Ezekiel Alladoh and Malik Jakupović to lead the front line.
It was Jakupović’s first start for the Union’s first team, and perhaps the biggest of Alladoh’s 14 starts. The club’s most expensive signing hadn’t started since Sept. 9, a stretch of eight games, and didn’t even make the bench in three of the last four.
Richter also made a swap on the back line in a three-game week, with the upcoming game Saturday at FC Cincinnati (2 p.m., Apple TV) more important than this one. Frankie Westfield got to rest, Nathan Harriel moved to right back, and centerback Japhet Sery Larsen made just his second start since the World Cup.
Across the field, South Jersey-born Nashville manager B.J. Callaghan used his club’s first game clinching the Supporters’ Shield to rest star attackers Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge. But the stalwart defensive trio of centerbacks Jeison Palacios and Maxwell Woledzi and goalkeeper Brian Schwake were all there, as was the third big piece of the attacking line in winger Cristian Espinoza.
» READ MORE: Malik Jakupović is the Union’s new hot prospect. Here’s why the team is being patient with him.
The teams combined for just two shots in the half, and the Union took both: Indiana Vassilev fired wide in the 13th minute, and Kai Wagner put a free kick into Nashville’s defensive wall in the 24th.
Callaghan sent Mukhtar and Surridge on in the 58th. Richter made his first substitution a minute later, Ben Bender for Jakupović, and pushed Quinn Sullivan up to the front line so Bender could play in attacking midfield.
If that was a sign of Richter wanting to keep things tight defensively, his next subs signaled he was willing to open things up. In the 69th, Agustín Anello and Westfield went in for Alladoh and Sery Larsen, shifting Harriel back to centerback.
Alladoh exited with just 26 touches of the ball, zero shots, and 9-of-17 passing.
» READ MORE: The Union’s loss to New England should be a cause for realism, not panic
Bender had a big chance in the 71st off a cross from Sullivan, but Schwake made a highlight-reel save. For as much as Bender should have scored, both he and Sullivan looked surprised that the offside flag had stayed down when Sullivan ran to Vassilev’s through ball.
Woledzi really should have scored in the 80th, but put an open header off a cross wide left.
Alejandro Bedoya was the Union’s last substitute, replacing Vassilev in the 86th after he put in a big shift. It didn’t seem like the Union were going to offer much attacking-wise after that, and they didn’t. Anello’s header wide in the 89th was the only major foray.
Danley Jean Jacques earned a yellow card in the for tripping Mukhtar in the 92nd, which in turn earned a suspension from the Cincinnati game for card accumulation. Richter said he expects Jesús Bueno to be able to play Saturday after missing three games with a hamstring injury, but it’s not certain yet that he’ll be able to start.
The last big exchange was a goalmouth scramble in the 94th by Nashville where Mukhtar couldn’t get the ball past Westfield and Andre Blake.
