Curtin hoping New England can finally get Union revved up
There isn’t much mystery in the Philadelphia Union’s preparation this week.
Yes, the game plan will explicitly be aimed at the New England Revolution for Saturday night’s Round of 16 affair at the MLS Is Back tournament (10:30, ESPN). But the more salient challenge isn’t breaking down the Revs. Instead, it’s Jim Curtin getting his team to be the team he knows it can be.
In years past, that challenge has been dire. This time, it’s downright tantalizing.
The Union (2-1-2, 8 points) are unbeaten in four games. They went 2-0-1 through Group A play to finish in second place, earning a date with Group C runnerup New England (1-1-3, 6 points). While they’ve been strong defensively, the Union’s attacking phase hasn’t been cohesive. They’ve looked dangerous but haven’t translated the threat into enough chances or goals.
“I think overall, we’ve said it after every game, satisfied tactically with how we’ve set up defensively, the effort that’s there from everybody but just that, how can we improve in the final third, in the offensive part of the game,” captain Alejandro Bedoya said Thursday. “I think we’ve done some great things, you’ve seen some good counterattacks, some good things playing out of the back, but just that final ball, the final movements in and around the box have been kind of lacking. And that comes with time.”
Time and health. The Union entered the opener against New York City FC July 9 with one healthy forward. Since then, Sergio Santos has started the last two games. Andrew Wooten was back in the squad last game and, per Curtin, was in line to sub on late until Brenden Aaronson tired rapidly. Wooten played in a scrimmage against Orlando City since. Michee Ngalina is also fully healthy.
More runners in the box and options for the Union’s dangerous service – Kai Wagner, Jamiro Monteiro and even Ray Gaddis have provided dangerous balls with no takers – bodes well for getting more goals.
It all speaks to Curtin’s usual mantra, “looking like ourselves.” They’ve had moments, for sure, the sublime counter-attack winner against Inter Miami among them. With two goals allowed in three games (after five conceded in two games in March), they’ve improved on last year’s albatross. But it’s about putting together the pieces into a coherent whole.
“The consistency is not there yet, and I think as the coach, I can understand that because we’ve had this long layoff,” Curtin said. “The one thing that’s come back and been pretty solid as a team – and I think it’s the one thing that all teams are going to have an easier time getting right – is the defensive side. How hard do we work? We control that. The effort that we put in, the blocks and clearances in tough moments, that’s something that is under our control. The offense is going to take a little longer. …
“We want to sharpen some things up and tighten things up defensively. I think the offense will come as time goes on. We are still creating enough chances, but overall, the one thing we’ve lacked is that consistency.”
New England provides a chance to set things right. The Revs are greatly improved under Bruce Arena, and the roster has been bolstered. They made the playoffs last season, finishing seventh in the East. They are much better defensively, thanks to goalie Matt Turner’s continued rise, and they have the attacking ingenuity of Gustavo Bou. But Carles Gil, the 2019 MLS Newcomer of the Year, is set to miss out with a foot injury, a huge loss.
Saying that the Union are focused on themselves can ring hollow from repetition. But given what they’ve done in this tournament and what the assembled pieces showed they’re capable of last year, there are much higher levels to reach. In a knockout tournament, the time to do that is now.
“It’s tough to criticize the team because we’ve been off for four months and it’s tough coming back like that,” Aaronson said. “I think that Jim’s right, we haven’t hit our full stride yet. If we keep playing, we’re going to hit that stride at some point, it’s just the time that we hit it. And I think next game would be the first time to hit it.”