Trio of stars all strike, Union clinch playoff berth with win
CHESTER >> If they play like a cohesive, connected team, Jim Curtin is fond of saying, the Union can beat any collection of individuals. Implicit in that statement, for reasons of professional tact and Curtin wanting to keep the disciplinary committee out of his wallet, is Curtin’s barely veiled desire to add “you know, like Atlanta United.”
The times have changed so that the gulf in raw talent is obvious. Wednesday night, Atlanta’s playoff hopes might have fallen straight into that gaping void.
Daniel Gazdag, Julian Carranza and Mikael Uhre all scored, and Nathan Harriel added his first career MLS goal as the Union ran past Atlanta United, 4-1.
The Union (16-4-9, 57 points) became the first team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot. It’s the sixth playoff appearance in the last seven seasons and fifth straight.
They keep the pressure on Los Angeles FC in the Supporters’ Shield race, jump eight ahead of Montreal atop the East and set the franchise’s record for goals scored in a season at 61. Gazdag also sits alone as the club’s all-time leading scorer in a season with his 17th goal.
For all the blowouts and showy soccer against wretched opposition, Wednesday’s was a display of possibly equal measure. Against an Atlanta team with tons of individual talent but mired outside the playoff positions and playing with near do-or-die desperation, the Union bossed long section of the game.
“I think tonight is an exercise in (that) good team defending and being organized and cohesive will be any group of great attacking players,” Curtin said. “Because that Atlanta team has a lot of great attacking pieces in their team, it was going to be a difficult game to do that. There was some desperation on their side where they were fighting to get above that red playoff line.”
The Union struck first on a nice counter move, Carranza burying a hard and low shot across the box and just inside the far post for his 14th goal of the season. Uhre was credited with the assist.
The lead wouldn’t last long. Andre Blake, making his 200th career MLS start, raised a hand to pad away a shot by Thiago Almada in the 24th minute. The ball bounced in the air on the edge of the six-yard box, allowing freelancing center back Andrew Gutman to fly in and propel his head at the ball before a defender could intervene. It’s his third goal in six games after just two in his first 61 MLS contests.
“When it went 1-1, I had a weird feeling. A doubt crept into myself,” Curtin said. “I know I’m not supposed to say that. It felt like maybe, with them having a group on the field and wanting to take risks and nothing to lose, they almost have eight pickup soccer players out there that can hurt you individually, it could’ve been one of those nights. But this group continues to not only impress me, but impress the fans and impress the league.”
The Union went ahead before the break, Alejandro Bedoya directing Kai Wager’s corner-kick service toward the back post where Uhre put his laces through a shot. Santiago Sosa slid to block it, but Uhre’s shot was struck so that it didn’t waver. It’s his 10th goal of the season, giving the Union the franchise’s first trio of double-digit goal scorers on the same team.
“It’s always nice to score right before the break,” Uhre said. “It kind of takes the momentum out of the
other guys, but just had to try to get the ball on goal. I had a little help getting it in there, but it’s always nice to score right before halftime because then you get some renewed energy.”
Gazdag added his name to the list in the 67th. It started with an outstanding ball from Jose Martinez. Goalie Rocco Rios Novo cleaned out Cory Burke vying for a headed ball inside the six, and it appeared that referee Lukasz Szpala signaled “play on” as if a penalty would’ve come. But Gazdag averted the mystery, toe-poking home his 17th of the season.
Even up 3-1, the Union looked far more dangerous than the chasers, who remain marooned in 11th
in the East with a trip to Portland coming up. Atlanta had 18 shots, but seven came from outside the box, where they were of little danger to Blake, who made four saves. The only one of any danger was in the 45th, when he dove at full stretch to his right to parry a Luiz Araujo shot around the post.
The Union, a game after lumping 26 shots against Colorado, had 22 on Wednesday. Burke hit the crossbar in the 77th, then Harriel followed his own miss by poking home a shot in the fourth minute of stoppage time. It’s his first pro goal and the first for a Union right back since May 18, 2019 (Keegan Rosenberry).