Halftime report: New York City FC 0, Philadelphia Union 0

The Philadelphia Union and New York City FC go into the half scoreless in the Bronx.

Both teams seemed to take the first minutes of the game to feel one another out. In the tiny confines of Yankee Stadium, possession isn’t a long-lasting affair, and neither team was able to get any long stretches on the ball. In the 11th minute, Maxi Moralez was called onside (although that like the legality of the pitch size was questionable at best) on a break, but his shot went well over the goal.

The Union did well defensively, with Fabinho’s positioning and CJ Sapong’s willingness to get back deep and help out notable examples. The pitch was surprisingly sloppy, with guys slipping and falling all over the place. One NYCFC player fell attempting a corner kick, with large hunks of turf being dug up as he went down.

In the 23rd minute Ilsinho had a blast from long distance but Sean Johnson made a great save to push it out of bounds. In the 25th minute, Oguchi Onyewu went up for a header and clashed heads with Maxime Chanot. Onyewu was administered concussion protocol on the field, and while he was able to get up, he had a giant goose-egg under his left eye. He was able to come back into the match after Miguel Camargo picked up a yellow card for stomping on Ilsinho’s foot, however after his eye was all but swollen shut the Union were forced to sub on Richie Marquez in the 38th minute.

In the 31st minute, Alexander Ring rang one off of the post. Andre Blake made a fantastic save on David Villa’s ensuing shot, and Fabinho was able to clear the ball from danger. The Union were able to avoid danger again when David Villa made a rare bad touch when in on Blake, and Andre was able to calmly collect the ball.

Blake made another fantastic save during the first minute of stoppage on another David Villa shot after Jack Harrison made a great cross into the box. After the fourth minute of added time expired the referee blew the whistle, sending the teams into the lockers tied at zero.

New York City FC: Sean Johnson; Ben Sweat, Alexander Callens, Maxime Chanot, Ethan White; Alexander Ring, Tommy McNamara, Maxi Moralez; Miguel Camargo, Jack Harrison, David Villa

Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake; Fabinho, Oguchi Onyewu (Richie Marquez, 38’), Jack Elliott, Ray Gaddis; Haris Medunjanin, Warren Creavalle; Fafa Picault, Ilsinho, Chris Pontius; CJ Sapong

Scoring: New York City FC - None; Philadelphia Union - None

Disciplinary: New York City FC - Miguel Camargo (Yellow - 29’); Philadelphia Union - None