CHESTER, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - Philadelphia's offensive woes continued Wednesday night as the Union settled for a scoreless draw with last place Sporting Kansas City.
The Union (6-4-5, 23 points) did record a point for the eighth straight time at PPL Park this season and drew even with Red Bull New York atop the Eastern Conference table. That's where the good news ended, however.
Philadelphia outplayed Sporting K.C. (3-6-5, 14 points) badly but could never solve goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, who stopped seven shots on the night.
The Union have now scored one or fewer goals in 13 of 15 matches this season, and six of their 16 total goals came in one match at Toronto back in late May. Despite those offensive struggles, team manger Peter Nowak sat his most gifted finisher, Danny Mwanga.
The Union had more than a few chances early. After two consecutive corner kicks from Sebastien Le Toux, Carlos Ruiz, who finished play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup over the weekend when Guatemala was eliminated, unleashed a shot in the 5th minute from beyond the area, but Nielsen was able to gather it.
Justin Mapp, Philadelphia's best dribbler in the midfield, worked his magic in the 24th minute, setting up a blast from Sheanon Williams that Nielsen was able to corral.
Less than three minutes after that Jack McInerney ran right into a loose ball, worked his way into the area and fired from close-range but Nielsen was up to the task again.
In the 29th minute Julio Cesar was handled a yellow card for tripping up Le Toux 30 yards out and Ruiz rocketed a brilliant free kick from 30 yards out that Nielsen made a diving stop on.
The Union's best chance, however, came in the 72nd minute when Le Toux lofted a brilliant cross for Ruiz in the area and his header went off the crossbar.
Overall Philadelphia had a season-high 19 shots on the night, seven on net, to just seven overall for Kansas City and one on target.
The Union are back in action for a third time in a week when they host Chivas USA on Saturday.
UNION Dues:
*MF Amobi Okugo was available after missing the least four league matches with a left ankle sprain and entered as a substitute for Veljiko Paunovic in the 66th minute.
*The Union's other subs were Keon Daniel for McInerney in the 60th minute and Roger Torres for Mapp in the 79th.
*Attendance was announced as 18,127, one of the smaller crowds of the year for Philadelphia but among them was movie star Hugh Jackman, who was spotted at The River End wearing a Union jersey and scarf.
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