Defense rides clean sheet into Revs clash

CHESTER » The Philadelphia Union have had few attacking displays this season more exacting than in the second half of Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal, a 3-0 outburst that downed Chicago and vaulted the Union into the final.

More than the goals, though, the second number stood out to most in the locker room afterward: The shutout that the Union kept, something they haven’t accomplished in a while in MLS. If they can do that again Saturday in a trip to New England, the club can cap one of its most consequential weeks ever.

Wednesday, the Union moved within in a win of its first trophy. Thursday, it announced the hire of sporting director Ernst Tanner. Saturday, with a win over the Revolution, the Union would vault New England into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, above the red line for the first time in months.

That’s a lot at stake, and it starts at the back, as manager Jim Curtin is wont to point out. The way the Union handled business Wednesday, with Jack Elliott deputizing for the injured Mark McKenzie and muting Chicago’s dangerous trio of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Aleksandar Katai and Nemanja Nikolic, was impressive.

“I’m so adamant about keeping a zero,” said midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, who set up both of Cory Burke’s goals. “You know as long as we keep a zero in games and give ourselves a chance for that one goal, we’ll be great. Credit to Jack coming in, he hasn’t played in a while and holding down the defense with (Auston) Trusty and not allowing Nikolic to really do much. And we stopped their midfielders from getting any real chances on goal. It was a whole team effort and that’s what it’s to to take.”

Elliott will likely get another run Saturday, as McKenzie is out with a knee sprain. A regular last year and to start this season, Elliott found himself on the bench after a small knock and the emergence of the 19-year-old Homegrown. But he has a chance to step up now.

He certainly looked equal to the task Wednesday. The center backs blanketed Nikolic out of the game, holding the Hungarian forward, who has 34 goals in the last season and a half, without a shot on goal. The midfield smothered the attacking runs of Katai and Schweinsteiger, not allowing them the sliver of space with which they can punish opponents.

In the process, the Union (8-11-3, 27 points) picked up their third win over Chicago this season.

“We were just pushing up, pressing real high because me and Trusty have good enough pace to deal with any of them getting in behind, so our plan was to just try to push into space and not let Schweinsteiger time and space to pick his head up and get a good ball out,” Elliott said. “So I think we did that well, especially in the second half. Maybe they got a few better looks in the first half, but definitely in the second half, we did better with them.”

The trend in clean sheets is perplexing, however. The Union have allowed just one goal in four Open Cup matches this season, notching three shutouts (two over MLS opposition). But their last league shutout came June 23 against Vancouver, which finished with nine men. They have just three league shutouts since starting the season with back-to-back blankings.

The Union might catch the Revs (7-7-8, 29 points) at a good time. They are winless in five (0-3-2) and have just two wins in their last 12. With D.C. United’s stadium construction leaving them 12 home games and Toronto rounding into form, the East’s playoff race could get a shake up, and the Union will want to get out ahead of that pressure. A result in New England would do that, kicking off a stretch of six straight games against Eastern opposition. That includes a return visit from the Revs to Talen Energy Stadium Aug. 25.