Union need a win to keep fading playoff hopes alive
CHESTER » We’ve reached year eight of the latest Philadelphia soccer experiment, and in that expanse of time, the Union have managed to defeat each of the 20 non-expansion MLS clubs save for two.
Their 2017 chance to get off the schneid against Real Salt Lake faltered at Rio Tinto Stadium May 27 in a 1-0 loss. But the other wincolumn goose egg has been created by Saturday’s opponent FC Dallas, which the Union have never bested in nine meetings (0-5-4).
That history isn’t what’s weighing most heavily on the Union, though. The Union (7-10-5, 26 points) sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, six points behind sixth-placed Columbus with a game in hand. Their playoff hopes will be severely dented if that gap remains at six after Saturday by the Union failing to get a result at home.
The sand is quickly falling through the hourglass of the season, and the Union have just six home games to continue their recent form at Talen Energy Stadium that has yielded six wins in seven games. To realistically remain in the hunt, they can scarcely afford to stumble at home, and even a return of 18 from a possible 18 points at home would require the sudden appearance of competence away from home, where the Union’s six points (of a possible 33) constitute the fourth-worst return in MLS.
But that’s down the road. For now, two straight home games loom, first Dallas (9-4-7, 34 points), then Montreal. And as if Dallas wasn’t a daunting enough matchup, they venture to Philly stung by a 4-0 loss delivered by Vancouver last week in Frisco, which doesn’t happen often.
A red card to Ecuadoran midfield destroyer Carlos Gruezo rules him out for Saturday. Also missing is defender Atiba Harris, via yellow-card accumulation.
But the Hoops have plenty of firepower, via 11-goal man Maxi Urruti, who has looked revitalized in that frontline, and Michael Barrios, MLS’s co-leader in assists with 10.
“(Coach) Oscar (Pareja) does a great job,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “They’re a very dynamic, dangerous attacking team. They’ve got a ton of speed, with (Roland) Lamah and Barrios on the wing, whether it’s Urruti, (Cristian) Colman or both guys up front, they’re a handful.”
Dallas is solid at every level, which is how a perennial MLS contender is built. Kellyn Acosta and Victor Ulloa will man central midfield in Gruezo’s stead. The former is also at the center of the Union’s biggest absence, since it was Acosta’s cleat that (unintentionally) lacerated the right hand of goalie Andre Blake in the July 26th Gold Cup final between Jamaica and the United States, which will likely cost the keeper a second straight game on the sidelines.
Dallas, in second place in the West, is recovering from the summer Gold Cup, with American defender Matt Hedges back in the middle alongside Walker Zimmerman to form what Curtin deems one of the league’s stoutest defenses (last week’s aberration notwithstanding).
In recent weeks, the Union have toggled between effective and anemic in the attacking third, a split that has often cut along the lines of home and away on the schedule. To defend home turf Saturday against a superior team, they’ll have to not only create chances but be precise in burying opportunities in the back of the net, exploiting what few openings Dallas may allow.
“A very good team all around, a team that you have to execute in front of goal and create chances like we usually do at home,” Curtin said. “It’s going to be a matter of being clinical. … They have a lot of talent and they’re a top team in the West.”