Three things we learned in the scoreless draw with Seattle Sounders

Sergio Santos had a poor match

Hey, everybody has bad days. That being said, not a great night for Mr. Santos. The Philadelphia Union striker played only 57 minutes in the match, coming off for Ilsinho in the second half. Within those 57 minutes he managed only 1 shot, which was off-target, and only connected on 67% of his passes. Sergio (along with most everyone else) could not get into a rhythm on Saturday night, never really finding his spots. One has to wonder if maybe the Union’s forward issues aren’t quite as solved as they may have seemed in the past few weeks. Is Sergio perhaps better suited as a sub? I say give him a couple more matches in the starting 11 and see what he can do. Patience is a virtue, and one Philly can afford at that.

Finish. Finish. FINISH!

Some people may be satisfied with the result, but not I! Time to put on my grouchy fan hat now for a minute, but come on, how did the Union not put one into the back of the net? Look, Seattle’s keeper Stefan Frei had a great night in goal, yes. He had some very good saves throughout the night, six in total to be exact. But what about the chances that were put wide? Like the wide open look Aaronson had that he put to the side of the goal? Aaronson had four shots on the night, with half off target. Or the (THREE OUT OF SEVEN!!!) terrible shots Jamiro Monteiro sailed over the net throughout the night? Listen guys, I know y’all put six past the New England Revs a few weeks back, but that doesn’t mean you just start blasting at the net. Patience, again, the theme of the week. Stay calm, keep your eyes on the prize, and put it past the keeper.

Jamiro Monteiro: Impressive, but out of control

So far Jamiro Monteiro has impressed me quite a bit. I rate him highly in terms of the Union’s squad. That being said, he plays like a wildfire, man. Which sometimes can be great! Other times, not so much. The team seems content with letting Monteiro control the midfield when he has possession, dealing out passes to the attacking corps or taking on the defense all by himself. While I don’t think he had a poor match on Saturday night, I was largely unhappy with his contributions. Seven shots is far too many for him to take in a match. Especially considering nearly 50% of them were off target. I also believe he fouls far too much, but this is a byproduct of his hard style of play, which for the most part I can come to terms with. The good far outweighs the bad with Jamiro, I just hope Jim Curtin begins to control his style of play a little more to fit the system.

What were your takeaways from Saturday night? Let us hear them in the comments.