Union win over D.C. a complete effort
WASHINGTON >> It lasted for all of 13 minutes, but Sunday night the Philadelphia Union finally had it. The three big pieces that it has acquired over the course of this year — Marco Fabian, Andrew Wooten and Jamiro Monteiro — were all on the field simultaneously.
That stretch was the outlier in a 5-1 win over D.C. United, one that didn’t yield a goal. But all three players had a hand in at least one tally, the Union showing what they can do in drubbing one of the other contenders in the East.
“There was a lot of frustration, but I’m happy for the team, we did a great performance that we were missing in the last couple of weeks,” striker Kacper Przybylko said. “We did very well and I’m very proud that we won.”
The final score was overshadowed by Alejandro Bedoya’s courageous statement about gun violence to the national TV audience after his third minute goal. The margin was embellished by the Union playing the last 50 minutes up a man after Junior Moreno’s red card.
But the visitors controlled matters from the start, led 1-0 after three minutes and held that edge when Moreno got his marching orders. They lumped 16 shots in the direction of the D.C. United net and scored five times while forcing Bill Hamid to make nine saves, a workload that didn’t include a penalty kick that Przybylko skied over the bar.
It meant a fifth straight win over D.C. United, suddenly faltering with just two wins in their last 13 games and rumors of an imminent departure by star striker Wayne Rooney, and a second consecutive league victory at Audi Field.
The Union (12-7-6, 42 points) are getting back to full health. Fabian, who scored twice and had an assist, went 90 minutes last week and has played in seven straight games, the last five from the start. Monteiro is back after four games out with an ankle sprain. Wooten earned his first start, ramping up his fitness from his preseason levels after last season in Germany.
That’s a lot of weapons for manager Jim Curtin to choose from. And when you consider that the three names he chose to highlight for standout performances Sunday — Wooten, Aurelien Collin and Warren Creavalle — include two veterans who’ve spent most of the season waiting on the bench, the depth can be scary.
Of the attacking crew, Wooten’s statistical contributions are the most minor. Fabian had a hand in three goals, Przybylko scored and drew the red, Fafa Picault came off the bench to score. But Wooten showed early on what he can do.
It’s lost in Bedoya’s celebration, but the setup of the opener is all Wooten. Andre Blake fizzled a low and hard goal kick forward that pitted Wooten and D.C. defender Donovan Pines on an island near the touchline. Wooten outfoxed the youthful Pines so that when the 6-5 defender leaned back on Wooten to draw a playending foul, Wooten had already gotten past him.
Pines, flailing, kept the ball in play. Wooten charged at the box, crossed to Fabian, who settled and handed off to Bedoya to side-foot from outside the box, in off the far post giving the Union a lead it wouldn’t give up.
“It was great. Andrew did great work, he was saving the balls and the sprints that he did for the team,” Przybylko said. “I think everything was working great today, so I think we have to just keep in mind what we did today.”
Creavalle and Collin lent structure to the team defensively, allowing it to cede the ball more with confidence of staying compact. Creavalle’s penchant for creating turnovers even turned into a goal when he played in Przybylko for the German’s 10th goal of the season.
Even when Przybylko spurned the chance to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot, the Union charged back within five minutes to get that second. When Frederic Brillant scored two minutes after Przybylko made it 3-0, the Union got the next goal.
It’s the latest manifestation of the team aspect that has the Union back into first place, ensuring Atlanta’s stay there lasted less than a day and in the process repairing some of the damage on goal differential wrought by consecutive 4-0 road losses.
“We’re at our best when we’re very organized defensively,” Curtin said. “We let them come at us a little bit, turned them over and created a lot of chances tonight. Twenty-six shots on the road is impressive from the group. Couldn’t be more impressed with the group.”