Strong start, stronger finish earns win over Real Salt Lake
CHESTER » The Philadelphia Union all week talked about the urgency of Saturday’s return to home ground. A win in Montreal, the thinking went, would be drastically diminished if the Union couldn’t glean the full three points on home soil against fellow strugglers Real Salt Lake.
Nor would two first-half goals mean much at Talen Energy Stadium if the Union didn’t find a way to weather the storm created by Damir Kreilach’s goal in the 65th minute, which halved the Union’s lead and introduced an air of tension. But as the Union answered coach Jim Curtin’s call with a fast start, they also responded with a momentum burst in the moments where the game was most in jeopardy of slipping away.
Marcus Epps had a hand in four goals — three of which counted — as the Union started fast and resisted Real Salt Lake’s attempt to make things interesting in a 4-1 romp past the Western Conference visitors.
Epps opened the scoring in the 21st minute and set up Borek Dockal’s first-half tally. Epps then appeared to score in the 68th, but that goal was wiped off the board by video review showing that Epps had been offside.
No matter, as the Union responded six minutes later with Epps setting up an Ilsinho goal, and Keegan Rosenberry blistered in a fourth in the 81st to destroy any remaining resistance.
Those two instances in which the Union adhered to their principles — from the start and in the face of adversity — indicated to Curtin just how much different things can be with a little confidence in the bank.
“Last week was last week,” Epps said. “Everybody had the mindset that this three points is what matters most. Last week was good, but it didn’t mean anything if we didn’t come out and get three points tonight, and that was the mindset from everybody tonight.”
“I thought that our response, almost every time there was a little bit of adversity in tonight’s game, they showed togetherness,” Curtin said of a group that assembled a “mature” performance. “They showed a team that was committed, that was willing to fight for each other. I’m really proud again of, for a young group, when that ball does go in and it’s 2-1 and you’re down, it can be tough. And you score again and it gets called back, and in your mind it can be a ‘here we go again’ type of mentality, but that’s gone from this group.”
The win marks the Union’s second straight, the club’s first in-season winning streak since June 24-July 2, 2017 (a span of 28 games). The four goals is a season-high.
The Union celebrated Epps temporary tally in the 68th after he nutmegged a defender and sent a shot squirting through the hands of RSL goalie Nick Rimando, but VAR decided that he had begun his run from an offside position.
Instead of being deflated, though, the Union lifted their level, with Epps in the lead. He sent Dockal thundering down the left wing to square to Ilsinho, and the Brazilian tapped it home off a defender’s leg in the 74th.
“Personally, it’s just wipe away the goal,” Epps said. “It’s always 0-0, even with the lead. Personally, I just try to attack it like it’s 0-0.”
The Union (4-5-2, 14 points) thrived in a wide-open first 25 minutes and finally cashed in via Epps’ first goal of the season in the 21st. Fafa Picault found space down the left wing, part of a general thrashing of RSL’s bereft fullback corps, and squared a ball near the penalty spot. With CJ Sapong driving to the near post and dragging a defender with him, Epps made the secondary run and popped it into the back of the net.
Dockal, who Curtin said “dominated the game,” doubled the advantage when Epps sprung Alejandro Bedoya past left back Pablo Ruiz. Dockal gesticulated where he wanted Bedoya to slot the ball in behind the defense, and Bedoya obeyed, leaving Dockal to simply dink it over the onrushing Rimando.
Dockal joins Sapong and Ilsinho in the team lead with two goals this season; Bedoya’s third assist also puts him out front in the team lead.
There were nervous moments on both sides in the first. Andre Blake was called into action on four occasions, three of them spectacular saves, including at full stretch to deny Jefferson Savarino’s swerving 18th-minute drive.
Rimando’s best save may have been one he wasn’t credited on in the 24th minute, tipping an Epps drive over the bar, though the referee ruled a goal kick, so no touch. Rimando stoned Picault twice in the 11th minute, the first an excellent low save, and then pounded away drives by Rosenberry and Picault in quick succession in the 20th. His reflex save on Dockal from point-blank range in the 57th was vintage Rimando.
RSL (4-6-1, 13 points) was forced into a switch at the back, with forward Brooks Lennon dropping back for the struggling Adam Henley at halftime. It only delayed the torrent of goals, though, with the Union monopolizing 53 percent of the possession, leading to 19 shots, 10 on target.
With all the effort came the result Curtin had hoped for this week, via a process that offers even more hope.
“Everyone’s happy. That’s the way we want it,” Picault said. “We got our first away win last week, now we get this home win, so it’s two in a row. We just want to keep it going and keep playing well. Important thing is we jell and play together and get our fast guys the balls, find each other, play to our strengths and we’ll be a great team.”