On eve of Father’s Day, Curtin ‘tired’ of Union’s ties
CHESTER » With three weeks off, there was plenty from the informal first half of the season that the Union hoped to leave behind in the international break.
Some things, though, have crept out of the break with them.
So it was Saturday night that the Union, as they have 11 of 15 times this season, scored first. And then, as they have in more than half of those games, they proceeded not to win.
First-half goals by Alejandro Bedoya and Brandon Vazquez cancelled out in a 1-1 draw for the Union and FC Cincinnati at Subaru Park, leaving most of the 18,717 in attendance disappointed as they filed to the exits.
“Again, it’s a point,” manager Jim Curtin said. “I’m kind of getting tired of the ties. I’m sure everybody is. It’s frustrating.”
The Union got their goal early Saturday, but then they took the foot off the gas. The goal was a beauty, though, courtesy of Bedoya. Julian Carranza was narrowly onside on a through ball, and he held off center back Tyler Blackett well to maintain possession to the end line. Bedoya swooped in to collect a feed, take a pair of touches inside and curl a delightful shot on his left foot, just inside the far post in the 17th minute.
The Union (6-1-8, 26 points) have scored first 11 times this season. They are just 5-1-5 in those games. The club is also unbeaten in eight matches, but at 1-0-7, it’s a distinctly unsatisfying streak.
The lead didn’t last long, though, with the Union conceding too much of the ball to an FC Cincinnati team that regrouped well. In all, the Union had the ball just 35.3 percent of the time in the first 45 minutes. Andre Blake sprawled to stop a deflected shot by Obinna Nwobodo in the 16th, a Haris Medujanin shot caromed wide in the 24th and Blake dove to deny an Alvaro Barreal follow on the ensuing corner kick.
Those warning shots unheeded, Cincinnati struck in the 39th minute. It proved one set piece too many to defend when Blackett knocked down a header into the path of Vazquez, who stayed even with the last defender and lunged face-first toward a ball on the line to nod it home. It was the young American’s eighth goal of the season, tying the fourth-year MLS club’s franchise record.
Cincinnati (6-7-2, 20 points) is greatly improved, thanks to the job done by former Union assistant Pat Noonan as coach and former technical director Chris Albright
as general manager. They entered just outside the playoff positions in eighth and will set the single-season franchise win record with their next victory. Still, the Union needed more than just a point from this visit, with Cincinnati winless in seven outings against the Union all time.
The Union found initiative in the second half, though they couldn’t find a way through. A shot by Daniel Gazdag in the 74th minute after a rare fine attacking move was right at goalie Roman Celentano. Ditto a Gazdag effort in the 86th after Cory Burke cushioned down a header.
Burke entered as a replacement for Mikael Uhre, who was ghostly in his first start since May 1.
“I think right now we’re looking for the right combination up top,” Curtin said. “The guys are competing and working hard. I think all of them, for the
quality that we have, if you took the entire group of strikers today, it wasn’t their best. I think they recognize that and they feel that.”
Cincinnati didn’t create much danger in the second half — Barreal tried his luck on Blake from 30 yards on a free kick design in the 52nd — but still held a 17-13 edge in shots. Each goalie made four saves, and while the Union narrowed the possession disadvantage to 54.7 to 44-3, it wasn’t enough to avoid another disappointing draw.
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NOTES » Saturday marked a return for Ray Gaddis, the Union’s all-time appearances
leader. Gaddis retired before the 2021 season then unretired to play for Cincinnati, close to his hometown of Indianapolis. Gaddis, who has not scored a goal in more than 19,000 MLS minutes, fired a shot over the bar in the 13th minute. … Both Gaddis and FC Cincinnati captain Haris Medunjanin received warm pre-game ovations, as did Noonan. … Saturday marked the debut of forward Chris Donovan, signed Friday from Union II. The Paoli native and Conestoga grad got the final five-plus minutes, with the Union shorthanded minus their four American Homegrown Under-20s.