It was a game the Philadelphia Union felt they deserved to win, and needed to win. Why is a season opener a must-win game?  Because when you are a playoff bubble team playing at home against an opponent picked to finish at or near the bottom of the standings, in a match you comfortably controlled if not dominated, you need to claim all three points. The fact that the game ended as a physical, ugly scoreless draw is not a surprise. The result felt like a loss for the Union while it seemed that Colorado was perfectly happy with the result.

Some Observations from the Match:

The Union is still a work in progress, especially offensively. They controlled possession 61%-39% and outshot the Rapids 16-2 overall, with four shots on goal to Colorado’s none. The offense needs Cristian Maidana on the field. While no one will question the effort of the attackers, it is clear that the team needs Maidana’s creativity. His ability to provide the attackers with the right pass at the right time is a skill that no other Union player possesses.

It seemed as though Colorado decided to park the bus the entire game and when that didn’t work just foul the closest opposing player. Colorado started two rookies, one in central defense and another at forward. Both center backs received yellow cards and one, Bobby Burling, was sent off in the 68th minute for his second yellow card.

The Union still struggle to score goals and break down defensive-minded teams but had several excellent chances, with Conor Casey’s 86th minute header being swatted away by Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin at the last second being the best opportunity. The defense as a whole played well and Steven Vitoria won just about every challenge in the air and on the ground. Sheanon Williams and Ray Gaddis looked much better than they had in preseason. Fernando Aristegueita was all over the field and handled himself well. He was very physical and will have few problems dealing with the physicality of Major League Soccer.

All in all this was a difficult game to judge exactly what kind of a team the Union will ultimately become. Colorado rarely threatened Rais M’Bolhi and when they did the defense covered well and cleared the ball quickly. Maurice Edu and Vincent Nogueira did a great job of harassing and stopping Colorado attempts at breaking through the defense.

C.J. Sapong came off at halftime due to a head injury (possible concussion) sustained just prior to the end of the first half, with Maidana replacing him. The Union played a 4-4-2 until that point. It seems they need more time working with that system. Even though it was a frustrating and disappointing day, there were many positives and you can see that this team will be tough to beat.