Defensive lull means it’s time for Union changes
CHESTER >> It seems as fitting a reset point as any in a long season. The Philadelphia Union are coming off possibly the club’s worst performance of the season, inarguably the worst since their fortunes began to change in April. The trip to Real Salt Lake, a 4-0 drubbing of a loss, was burn-the-tapes bad, Jim Curtin admitted.
While no one escapes such a pounding blameless, one unit in particular garnered extra attention. Curtin and his defenders huddled to talk things out, about a defensive lull that encompasses more than just the backline and more than just one bad outing.
“It’s no secret that the teams with the best defenses are there at the end of the year and playing in the big games, and we want to be one of those teams,” Curtin said Wednesday at his weekly press conference. “We’ve gotten too soft in the goals we’ve conceded.”
And so for the coach who last week was justly rewarded with a contract extension, the time has come to do for the defense what he’s done elsewhere on the field: To tinker, to hone, to find solutions.
It’s been nine games since the Union last kept a clean sheet. In that time, they’ve allowed 20 goals, including two fourgoal concessions. It’s a testament to their mettle that they’ve treaded water at 3-3-3.
But the correlation is clear, as Curtin put it. The Union leapt out to the front of the Eastern Conference with a
7-1-2 stretch. In those 10 games, they allowed six goals, with five shutouts. It’s not Curtin’s predisposition as a defender that clouds his assessment; the numbers back him unequivocally.
The solution may be novel for Curtin: A little change at the back. The Union have played
22 games. Jack Elliott has started all of them in central defense, Auston Trusty 20. Ray Gaddis has been at right back for 20 games; the other two, he started on the left. And Kai Wagner has made 19 starts at left back. It’s the continuity that Curtin values, the fix-it-and-forget-it mentality that comes with trusting your starters.
That was once the default in attack, too, partially due to Curtin’s philosophy and partially due to a dearth of alternatives. But this season, Curtin has adapted to a deeper squad with a nuanced tactical approach. He’s been more assertive with attacking subs. He’s been decisive in changing things that don’t work. He’s backed words about training-ground competition with gameday action.
And now, it’s time to apply the same prosperous principles to the defense. Against New York City FC three weeks ago, the Union conceded four goals, but it wasn’t time to make changes. Two markers came from the penalty spot, and two were superb goals in which the Union were split open by one of MLS’s top playmakers in Maxi Moralez. The RSL setback is a different story. Two goals came off giveaways, one a howler by Gaddis. Another was a simple overthe-top ball that Trusty didn’t deal with.
Add in two set-piece concessions in a disappointing home draw against Orlando City and one in a draw at New England, and the softness factor comes into sharper focus.
“If you look at the four against Salt Lake, it’s like, how many were really earned where you go, ‘Wow, they put four or five good passes together?’ Or did we just switch off for a split second and really get punished?” Curtin said. “Those were four goals where our guys actually laugh at it because it was a comedy of errors that we had, and I don’t think that will happen again.”
Curtin should be laughing all the way to the chalkboard to draw up changes this week as Chicago, the 10th-place team in the East, visits off a short week.
As Curtin admits, there are options. Mark McKenzie is back in the flow of regular time with Bethlehem Steel. After 19 MLS games last season, he’s played just 12 minutes this year due to injuries and international duty. Matt Real’s first MLS minutes against Orlando City led to an assist on the game-tying goal and setting up what would’ve been the game-winner were it not for a worldclass save by Brian Rowe. Both performed well for the Union in a Tuesday scrimmage against Reading United. Veteran RJ Allen is capable cover at outside back for, say, when someone like Gaddis plays like they need either a rest or a jolt of competition.
Perspective is called for. The Union (10-6-6, 36 points) are still first in the East, in points and points per game. The club is struggling … which means 1-1-1 in the last three and 1-2-2 in their last five games, four of which were on the road. They approached the last two games without Jamiro Monteiro, who greatly enhances the midfield’s defensive mettle. They’re third in MLS in away points.
This isn’t a crisis as in years past. But the Union’s talent shows that they have a high ceiling, loftier than any version in the club’s checkered history. And sorting out the defensive issues over the season’s final 12 games is the only way they can approach that.
“We have to be a team that is peaking at the right moment,” Curtin said. “I don’t think we have yet. I don’t think we’ve played the perfect game with our full lineup yet. I’m OK with that. I do think we need to be smart and recognize last week against Salt Lake has to be an outlier. It can’t be the norm, and we have to get back to doing what’s made us a firstplace team.”