All Wooten can do is wait and wish for playoff chance

CHESTER >> The plan for Andrew Wooten against New York City FC two weeks ago went awry, through no fault of his own. With it came a handy microcosm for the striker’s three months in Philadelphia.

Union manager Jim Curtin tapped Wooten to start out wide in the 4-2-3-1 formation, just his fourth start since arriving in July. The choice would give Curtin a look at what Wooten can do in a wing position, how he’d stretch the field and pair with forward Kacper Przybylko, maybe adding another arrow to the tactical quiver for the postseason.

But then Przybylko was felled by a foot injury in warmups, and Wooten moved up top. The result was a slow start, a generally ineffective attacking performance and a 2-1 loss. And another dose of frustration for a striker struggling to adapt to MLS.

“I’m just trying to do my best when my number is called,” Wooten said Wednesday. “I’m trying to be there and fill the spaces that they give me. I’m happy with every minute I get to get up my fitness level and get in the rhythm of games. That’s all I can do.”

Wooten figured to be an X factor in the stretch run. That didn’t transpire. But with questions over how healthy Przybylko is for Sunday’s playoff opener against the New York Red Bulls (3 p.m., FS1), Wooten could yet have a chance to impact the Union in the way management envisioned.

Wooten signed June 20 and was eligible to play once the transfer window opened July 9. But in seven appearances, he’s got just five shots (two on goals) and one secondary assist in a mere 352 minutes. That came in his first start of the season at D.C. United, a solid performance that he couldn’t parlay into more success.

Some of the challenge is circumstance. Wooten is basically in his 15th month of a continuous season that started last summer with German club SV Sandhausen. He scored 17 goals in 31 matches in the 2.Bundesliga last year, but the 30-year-old was allowed to walk when his contract expired in May.

When he signed in June, the Union were searching for attacking depth. Sergio Santos was rounding back into form from his second of what would become four separate leg injuries. Marco Fabian wasn’t yet all the way back from ankle issues. And Cory Burke was locked out of the country due to visa issues.

Wooten was, on paper, an ambitious upgrade. It hasn’t translated to the field.

Some of that owes to Przybylko’s success. Wooten’s acquisition coincided with a run of five goals in four games by Przybylko, taking him from a solid rotation striker to someone Curtin couldn’t take off the field, tied for the fifth-leading scorer in MLS with 15 goals.

As the Union increasingly shifted away from the 4-4-2 diamond to more use of the 4-2-3-1 — a formation that accommodates attackers like Fafa Picault and Ilsinho better but turns Wooten and Przybylko mostly into an either/or scenario — opportunities for Wooten were fewer and further between. Wooten was even the odd man out of the 18 for the Sept. 22 trip to Red Bull Arena.

Wooten and Przybylko have a strong relationship, both products of the German soccer system, which makes the waiting a little easier. Wooten has also blended seamlessly with the group, including players like Picault, who he would’ve played against in Germany, and American Alejandro Bedoya. Wooten also draws comfort in knowing his seat on the bench is caused largely by one of MLS’s top scorers.

“I want to play, of course, but he’s doing his job pretty good,” Wooten said of Przybylko. “There’s nothing I can do at the moment. He scores goals when he plays, and I just have to be patient and be ready when it’s my turn.”

Wooten scored a goal in a September friendly with Mexican club Pumas. That touch hasn’t transferred to league play. Curtin labeled Wooten unlucky for not having put away a golden chance against NYC, denied by goalie Sean Johnson. That shot, in the 28th minute, could’ve changed the complexion of the game. Instead, it went down as another missed chance.

“He needs that first goal to go in, one way or another,” Curtin said. “So close, Sean Johnson makes a great save in this game. But he’s working his tail off, the data showed just how much he worked and ran for us, and again, he’s doing a good job.”

With Przybylko rehabbing furiously, there’s a question of how much a player who missed just 18 minutes over a span of 23 games can play, if he’s out there at all. And there’s pitched combat for spots on the bench. If Curtin were to start, for instance, Santos and Przybylko in a 4-4-2 against the Red Bulls, then the three attacking spots on the bench would probably be fought for between the group of Wooten, Fabian, Ilsinho and Picault. At the very least, Wooten would seem a likely bench inclusion as an insurance policy if Przybylko’s health falters.

Wooten is saying the right things. At this point, all he can do is hope for a chance and capitalize when it comes.

“It’s been tough,” he said. “It’s been not easy the last couple of months, but I’m sure things will get better every minute I play and every chance I get. I’m just trying to be patient and do my best.”