The undermanned Philadelphia Union aim to extend their franchise-record MLS unbeaten streak to 12 matches on Sunday night when they visit the Columbus Crew.
Bruno Damiani’s 10th-minute penalty kick proved just enough as the Union (12-3-4, 40 points) recorded a 1-0 road victory over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday. Philadelphia has strengthened its position atop the MLS table by virtue of its 8-0-3 mark over the last 11 matches.
Damiani, who joined the Union for a club-record fee in February, is expected to contribute given that striker Tai Baribo is nursing a calf injury. Baribo leads the Union with 13 goals, including one in his club’s 2-2 draw against Columbus on May 10.
In addition to Baribo, Quinn Sullivan, Nathan Harriel and Jakob Glesnes will be out for the Union on Sunday. Sullivan and Harriel will be competing with the U.S. men’s national team in the Gold Cup, while Glesnes will serve a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Frankie Westfield is dealing with an ankle injury and Olivier Mbaizo and Mikael Uhre have adductor injuries and are expected to sit out on Sunday.
“We don’t have almost half the squad,” midfielder Jovan Lukic said, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But I think everybody is doing an amazing job. Everybody is ready for these kinds of moments, even the guys who don’t have too (many) minutes this season.”
Columbus’ Jacen Russell-Rowe scored two of his team’s three first-half goals in a 3-1 home victory over the Atlanta United on Wednesday.
Rowe scored in the 32nd and 42nd minutes while making his first start for the Crew (9-3-7, 34 points), who have won two in a row overall and sport a 6-1-4 record at home.
“If you remember the games that we played, we had many chances at certain moments and we (didn’t) score,” Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy said. “The game is about cycles. Sometimes we cannot explain. Sometimes we can struggle to score an easy tap-in, and sometimes we can score really complex goals. This is football.
“The most important for me is to be able to attack the box as many (times) as possible. The fact that we’re able to do that, I’m confident for the rest.”
Columbus’ Daniel Gazdag, however, remains in search of his first goal since being acquired in April. He is the Union’s all-time leading goal scorer.
–Field Level Media
