Picault, Union leave points on field against San Jose
CHESTER » The good news is that the Union left Talen Energy Stadium Saturday night with a goal in 11-v-11 action. The bad news is it left two points on the field against a San Jose squad that is also struggling to get going this season.
It was one of those nights for a soccer club that seems to experience an inordinate amount of them. Things didn’t quite go right in front of goal, leaving plenty to lament in a 1-1 draw with the Earthquakes.
Alejandro Bedoya ended a long drought for the Union with his header in the 64th minute, but the Union couldn’t translate a decided edge in possession and 22 shots (eight on target) into more than the one marker.
“It’s a night that’s going to be frustrating to think about,” manager Jim Curtin said. “We’re going to lose some sleep because it should’ve been three points.”
“I’m frustrated, it’s crap to tie a game,” Bedoya said. “Nothing against San Jose, but to play like that in the first half and not get anything out of it, same last week against Colorado. The first half we dominated and we haven’t been able to get anything out it. It’s frustrating. We need to have a sense of urgency in the final third, get more guys in the box and make more decisive runs.”
Bedoya provided one of those decisive runs, the captain coming up with a bold play at a key moment that marked the team’s first 11-v11 goal this season. The insertion of Ilsinho for David Accam just a minute prior rejuvenated the attack down the right wing. After a clearance, Borek Dockal sprayed the ball to the left side of the six-yard box, where Fafa Picault took it inside to his right foot and lofted a cross for Bedoya to run onto and bury into the net.
It’s just the third goal for the Union (1-1-2, 5 points) this season; the first two came in the opener against New England with the Revolution reduced to 10 men. Bedoya’s tally pegged back a 37th-minute goal from Magnus Eriksson, and San Jose was hit with a post-match red card to central defender Harold Cummings for violent contact for an off-the-ball incident with Auston Trusty in stoppage time.
The obvious difference from the first three lineups was the reintroduction of Picault, who returned from suspension after a preseason dustup with Orlando City. Picault provided the inspiration, not just on the goal but with his directness of play out wide.
“Good, obviously not my max,” Picault said. “It’s my first official game since late October. I think I did a lot of things well and definitely things to build off and improve on in the next games.”
Picault produced the Union’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes, the 5-8 winger rising to head a Matt Real cross, but San Jose goalie Andrew Tarbell saved it off the line.
“Right off the bat, he gets in behind the defense in the first five minutes I think twice,” Curtin said of Picault. “… He didn’t show a lot of rust for having missed game minutes. Happy with the effort that he put in, and again he changed the team a bunch and gave us a real spark. On a different night, we could’ve had four or five goals.”
What the Union sought was more finishes like Eriksson’s, a deft, right-footed lash around the on-rushing Jack Elliott and past the glove of Andre Blake. Anibal Godoy sprung Danny Hoesen down the right wing, and the Dutchman’s second touch squared to the Swede for his first MLS goal.
Curtin opined that attacking chemistry wasn’t the issue for the Union, and the volume of shots reinforced that. Accam wasn’t at his sharpest, and Dockal is still settling into the side, though he gave his best performance to date. The Czech midfielder notched his first MLS shot on target in the 12th minute after a smart interchange with Accam at the top of the 18. In the 62nd, Dockal drove a shot from 30 yards that Tarbell dove to stop.
“I think we found him a lot in between the lines, and it’s a credit to him for making those movements, coming off the backline and their center backs had a tough time dealing with him,” Curtin said. “He found a lot of space. You can see his quality on the ball. He’s getting sharper and sharper every day.”
The skipper was dismayed by the extracurriculars with Cummings, who was assessed a red card via video review once the game had ended thanks to an offthe-ball and below-the-belt punch on Trusty in the aftermath of a free kick deep into stoppage time. That coupled with what Curtin deemed insufficient stoppage time (three announced, more than five were played) added to the frustration.
“He just punched me,” Trusty said. “Arm in my private area. Can’t do anything about it now. I’ve just got to move on from it.”
The Union are walking a fine line in their patient stance. The schedule peculiarities mean they start with four of five at home, and they’ve collected just one win in the first three. It’s reasonable to assume that with so many new attacking pieces, the goals will come one the adjustment phase ends. But the Union may need to hasten the offense’s arrival for the sake of their late-season aspirations.
“Tonight is a night where I don’t even thing it was a lack of chemistry from the front four; it was just a night where it was San Jose making a block, us just not hitting the final ball, we created a heck of a lot of chances,” Curtin said. “And if we create chances like that in our stadium, we’re going to win a lot of games.”
“We’ll score. We’ll score,” Picault said. “It’s not really a worry. We’re jelling. We’re getting new guys, and myself, it’s also new. It’s going to work. It’s going to be fine. No worries.”