A ‘reset’ Sapong comes through in D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C » Cold as it felt, the math Jim Curtin used with CJ Sapong was inescapable.

The striker wasn’t scoring, so the Union weren’t scoring, so the Union weren’t winning – regardless of the hustle and intangibles the veteran undeniably brought.

Cory Burke was scoring, so the Jamaican would start up top. And Sapong would get a chance to reprise his role as a direct, defensebattering winger.

“The word I used was, ‘it’s time to reset,’” Curtin said. “He’s a guy that responded to that. It clicked with him.”

It clicked Wednesday at Audi Field, Sapong turning in a manof-the-match performance with a goal and an assist in the Union’s 2-0 win over Wayne Rooney and D.C. United, the Union’s fourth straight win.

Sapong scored in the 29th minute, cleaning up the rebound of a Burke shot set up by Sapong’s slipped-in through ball. He added an assist on Fafa Picault’s goal in the 61st, the James Madison grad getting a chance to celebrate with family and friends just up the road from his hometown of Manassas, Va.

“I’m always trying to improve my game so I think today was a game that I felt – maybe it’s also being back home where I grew up – but I did feel a comfort on the field and I did feel it was a day where I could be more creative and try to instill my will on the game,” Sapong said. “The goal was definitely, I felt it click in my own mind, following the play and staying hungry whereas in the beginning of the season, there were a lot of plays like that where I felt that I might have not been turned on when I could’ve been and could’ve put myself or my team in the position to get a win.”

With the win, the Union (1211-3, 39 points) move within one point of fourth-place Columbus Crew. They expand their lead on previously streaking D.C. (7-11-6, 27 points) to 12 points.

The Union’s streak begets a slew of franchise history. This is just the second four-game MLS winning streak in club history, the other last year (May 6-20, on the heels of an 0-4-4 start). It’s the first time the Union have won five consecutive in all competitions, factoring in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal.

The 12 wins on the year tie a franchise record from 2013, as does five road wins (also 2013). And it guarantees for the first time since 2015, the Union will finish with a record other than 11-14-9.

The Union are just the second team to win at Audi Field in this, the seventh match at the stadium. The Union are 4-1 in MLS on Wednesday this year (3-1 on the road) and 8-1 in midweek games overall.

It’s not all about the offense – the Union have kept three consecutive clean sheets and haven’t allowed a goal in 296 minutes. But the attack has also sprung to life.

Burke has seven goals in eight MLS starts and 10 goals in all competitions. Picault has three goals in his last four starts. And Sapong has righted the ship of a season that started with two goals in 17 games. He has three goals in his last eight games in all competitions.

Sapong was rewarded for his persistence in a great back-to-front goal just before the half-hour mark with a vintage incisive run. It started with Auston Trusty clearing a header out of the Union’s box up to Borek Dockal, who fed Picault. Instead of pushing without numbers forward, Picault picked his head up and spotted Sapong with a curling ball to charge at the defense.

Sapong slipped in Burke, whose shot was pawed away by Bill Hamid. But Burke’s shot was to the back post to put Sapong in play for a rebound, and Sapong obliged by extending his run, charging to the loose ball to fire home his fourth MLS goal of the season.

“They were tracking back and I think they were out of sorts,” Sapong said. “Cory made a good run, I played him in and I just wanted to be in the box in case anything happened. Luckily the ball fell to me and it was a pretty easy finish.”

Sapong was at the forefront of doubling their edge in the 61st. Dockal sprayed a quick counter out wide, and Sapong hit a hard and low square ball near the penalty spot that Picault lashed into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season. The assist is Dockal’s 13th of the campaign.

“I saw him making that run down the side and I just had to be somewhere near the back post and I slotted it past the goalie,” Picault said. “I knew he had to make a dive so I sent it to the center.”

The Union largely muted Rooney and company. Andre Blake made three saves, none particularly difficult, for his eighth shutout. Rooney clanged the post in the eighth minute, a shot that Trusty got a piece of. A delicate Rooney chip in the 23rd minute floated just wide of the post with Blake flailing at air. But the hosts generated nothing of any potency after halftime.

That allowed the Union to run out with the win in decisive fashion, earning a bigger cushion in their pursuit of a playoff spot and more confidence to carry into Saturday in Orlando.