Carranza scores twice, Union thump Montreal
CHESTER » In the long slog of an MLS season, among the talk of tactics and load management, it’s a luxury for a club to be able to tell its strikers to just go take care of a game for them.
Mikael Uhre and Julian Carranza did that on a drama-free night at the office for the Philadelphia Union Saturday.
Carranza scored twice — and should’ve bagged at least a hat trick — and Uhre added his third goal of the season against Montreal in a 3-0 win over Montreal at Subaru Park.
In the process, the Union (9-4-3, 30 points) extended a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) and moved for the moment into second place in the East, pending Nashville’s result late Saturday.
The Union made three changes from Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Charlotte, though the team kept the same 3-5-2 formation. Manager Jim Curtin had used the same starting lineup each of the last three games, but Saturday brought a swap of the wingbacks, with Kai Wagner moving in as the left center back and Jesus Bueno replacing Jose Martinez in midfield.
The freshness paid dividends, as the Union created a slew of chances off the press against a naïve Montreal defense, the incessant pressure opening fissures to exploit. They put a heavily rotated Montreal to the sword, outshooting them 23-9.
The hosts needed one moment of brilliance from Andre Blake, the captain getting his trailing hand down to snuff out a chance by Lassi Lappalainen in the 30th minute on a 1-v-2 break. But otherwise he had just one stop to make in his sixth clean sheet of the season and 71st career.
It looked for a moment like the threat on the Union’s first goal had passed, in the 12th minute when Nathan Harriel’s cross from right wingback sailed over the box and was saved by left wingback Matt Real. But Real funneled the ball to Carranza, who cut inside and unleashed a shot from outside the box near its left edge curling just inches inside the far post.
It’s the kind of finish that has some in Chester wondering how long it’ll be before a European club makes a play for the services of the Argentine striker, who turned 23 last month.
The second goal involved both strikers, if more puzzlingly executed. Carranza’s shot from a sharp angle to the left of James Pantemis took a deflection that put off the goalie, only able to fight off a shot that seemed relatively easy to handle. The rebound spilled, Uhre pounced and whizzed a rising shot just over the head of a kneeling Pantemis for his sixth goal of the season.
Carranza added what for now is his ninth goal of the season, a goal-bound shot in the 61st that pinballed off two defenders and looped over the head of Pantemis in goal.
He missed a golden chance for his third career Union hat trick in the 65th, a ball finding him with the net open from 6 yards out, but he skied his chance. Jack Elliott had a shot cleared off the line on a set-piece scramble in the 78th as well.
Curtin reminded his players this week of the previous meeting with Montreal, a 3-2 loss March 18 at the Stade Olympique.
The Union led 2-1 in that game entering second-half stoppage time before goals by Chinoso Offor and Romell Quioto gave the hosts their first win of the season. Carranza was sent off that day, the second time he’s been shown a red card against Montreal.
Montreal made eight changes from Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at D.C. United.
Neither captain Victor Wanyama nor Offor made the bench, with an eye toward
next Wednesday’s game in Vancouver in the Canadian Championship. The team is in the midst of 11 games in 36 days.
Quioto and midfield stalwart Samuel Piette missed out via injury.
The importance of the home win is magnified given the Union’s scheduling idiosyncrasies.
Saturday was the Union’s ninth home game out of 17
this season. They’ll play at Subaru Park at a clip of barely once a month the rest of the summer: June 24 against Inter Miami, July 15 against New York City and Aug. 20 against FC Dallas
Around that are seven road games before Sept. 1 plus the monthlong break for League Cup, when Mexican teams come to Chester in July.