Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Red card a setback for Jones
Youngster suspended for Saturday’s game against D.C. United
“It was a 50-50 ball and I saw the ball so I was trying to go for the ball. I guess it was a bad tackle. I wasn’t trying to go for the player because I saw the ball and went for the ball.” – Union’s Derrick Jones
CHESTER » Sunday’s loss to the New York Red Bulls provided the second big dose of adversity in Derrick Jones’ rookie campaign. Given how he rebounded from the first such instance, Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin is hopeful that this weekend on the sidelines will be constructive for the midfielder.
Jones was shown a red card in the 53rd minute of the 2-0 loss to the Red Bulls for a high tackle on Felipe that was more awkward than malicious. The Union won’t appeal the decision, Curtin said, depriving the team of Jones’ services against D.C. United Saturday (7 p.m., 6ABC).
“It was a 50-50 ball and I saw the ball so I was trying to go for the ball,” Jones said after training. “I guess it was a bad tackle. I wasn’t trying to go for the player because I saw the ball and went for the ball.”
“I don’t think he actually needs to leave his feet,” Curtin said. “Any time do you leave your feet
in the middle of the field, you leave yourself open to a referee decision, and again I think he could’ve stayed on his feet, ran through the ball and won it. We talked about it, showed him some things. I think he’ll learn from it.”
The 20-year-old Homegown has yo-yoed in and out of the lineup. He started the first five games of the season before Alejandro Bedoya’s restoration to the No. 8 role that best suits both players, leaving Jones on the bench. Jones left for several weeks for the Under-20 World Cup, where he established himself as a mainstay, and scored his first pro goal last Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup win over Harrisburg City.
With the Union (4-74, 16 points) a third of the way through a stretch of six games in 21 days, Jones will get opportunities, particularly with call-ups looming for the Gold Cup. Despite the red, Curtin doesn’t want Jones to too drastically alter his game, just to be a little more careful in execution.
“He’s a young player that you don’t want to take the aggressiveness away from and you want that to still be part of him,” Curtin said. “It’s in his DNA so you don’t want to change too much there.”
Jones, meanwhile, is trying to glean lessons from the incident that he can take moving forward.
“I’ve watched it a couple of times,” he said. “I went for the ball. I guess I had my studs up and that’s the referee’s decision. … I felt like I let my team down. I was disappointed, but it’s something I want to learn from and keep going forward.”
••• Curtin is aware of the cost to his roster that the Gold Cup will exact, but he wasn’t at liberty to share. The Union have three Americans — Bedoya, Chris Pontius and CJ Sapong — named by coach Bruce Arena to the 40-man roster, which will be whittled to 23. The Gold Cup includes provisions to shuttle in players for the knockout stages, permitting national team coaches flexibility and
creating headaches for club bosses.
“I know but it’s not right for me to be the one that breaks the news, although I know Bruce and U.S. Soccer will have an announcement soon,” Curtin said. “But we have an idea of the damage that will be done during the Gold Cup.”
The U.S. plays Ghana in a friendly in Hartford July 1 before opening the Gold Cup against Panama in Nashville July 8. The U.S. is drawn in Group B with Panama, Martinique and Nicaragua. The final will be played July 26 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Lincoln Financial field hosts a pair of quarterfinals July 19 featuring the winner and runner-up from Group B (i.e., almost certainly the U.S.).
Jamaica begins its Gold Cup against Curacao July 9 in San Diego, which will draw the services of Andre Blake.
••• Bedoya is back in the mix this week after returning from World Cup qualifiers with a hamstring strain. Curtin said the captain worked fully Wednesday and is a full go for D.C.
Warren Creavalle (hamstring) was shut down early with tightness in his balky leg, which gave the Union staff pause. Fabian Herbers (adductor strain) worked through the technical portion of training and is nearing a return. Jay Simpson had “a little tweak in the glute area” during an exercise, per Curtin, and was given an early exit.
••• The Union enter the summer transfer window with an open roster spot, and while Curtin has repeatedly professed satisfaction with his roster, the club remains open to additions.
Wednesday featured a new face in training, Costa Rican Elias Aguilar. The 25-year-old attacking/leftsided midfielder is under contract with Herediano in his home country. He’s been capped 12 times by Los Ticos, including a roster nod for the 2015 Gold Cup. Aguilar was not on the preliminary 40-man list for this summer’s edition.
Curtin said the Aguilar is just training for the week, while reports out of Central America indicate that it is a trial.