The Philadelphia Union fell at home on Saturday night 2-1 at the hands of the Columbus Crew thanks to a first half brace from Kei Kamara.

We were beat by a better team tonight. Columbus was very good. They pushed the tempo, especially in the first half, and we didn´t have a lot of answers, Philadelphia manager Jim Curtin said after the game.

For about the first ten minutes of the first half, the Union were able to create chances off of crosses, although they were unable to put any of them away.  Once Columbus woke up, they dominated the first half in all aspects. In the tenth minute, Crew forward Kamara had a free header from 12 yards out, yet was unable to put it on frame. This would not be the last time Kamara would give the Union defense headaches.

Eleven minutes later, Kamara would find the first of his two goals on the night. In the 21st minute, Columbus right fullback Harrison Afful sent in a cross that skimmed off Union centerback Richie Marquez’s head to a wide open Kamara at the back post for the easy header goal.

Only five minutes later, Kamara would find his second goal of the night off another good service from Afful. In the 26th minute, Afful received a deflected pass from Columbus center attacking midfielder Federico Higuain and then slid the ball to the back post where Kamara slid into the ball for the 2-0 Crew lead.

At halftime, Columbus managed to have a whopping 66% of the possession, including a 15 minute spell of over 70% possession in the first half. The key tactic from the first half was Columbus’ concerted effort to attack the right side of the field where Union fullback Fabinho was located. Excluding Saturday night, Fabinho is usually a very aggressive defender who makes risky decisions. At some times during the game, Fabinho was left to go not only against winger Ethan Finlay, but, also Afful, creating a dangerous 2v1 scenario for the Crew. For a counterattacking team like the Union, the inability for the fullbacks to break out down the wings almost defeats any possibility of playing the counter.

“Columbus does a really good job of stretching out and spreading the field. They created 2-on-1s and advantages,” Curtin added. “It kind of kept us almost straight across the back, flat-four, and then they push with their outside backs. We weren’t the proactive team.”

The second half featured better play from the Union. Central attacking midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta was to move around better with the ball in the second half after being an almost nonfactor in the first half.  With the Union continuing to push more in the second half, they were able to find a goal in the 66th minute thanks to a low cross to the back post by Sebastien Le Toux, which found CJ Sapong for the tap-in goal.

It was too little too late. Curtin attempted to bring on more offensive players such as Conor Casey to help find an equalizer. Yet, the whistle blew as Columbus collected three road points. With the loss, it is rather safe to say now that the Union will not make the playoffs considering the circumstances. The sixth place team, Montreal, is only two points ahead. However, they also have four games more to play than the Union, which means it is very likely that this lead will expand.

In the end, the Union will continue to battle for pride’s sake in the MLS regular season, but will most likely have their eyes and focus creeping to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final in under three weeks from now. 

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