Union’s formation change may stay despite dismal draw

Offensively, the Union’s offense has problems. They may have some solutions arriving. And the latest installment of a season-long failure to launch might hold some hints as to how those two might meld.

Sunday’s 0-0 draw in Columbus was as defensively effective as it was offensively dull. Though they denied the Crew two points at home, it goes down as another ineffectual attacking performance.

But manager Jim Curtin drew the obvious parallels Sunday, in a nod to the other game he was tracking on the evening. Paxten Aaronson scored twice and Jack McGlynn added a goal as the United States Under-20s won the CONCACAF Championship with a 6-0 win over the Dominican Republic in Honduras. All told, as the Americans reached next year’s Under-20 World Cup and the Olympics (for the first time since 2008) in Paris in 2024, Union players combined for 15 of the 31 American goals. Aaronson, winner of the Golden Boot and tournament MVP, scored seven to go with an assist. McGlynn scored twice, Quinn Sullivan added six goals and four assists.

For a team struggling to score, offensive contributors coming back is a positive. And with the tournament being conducted outside the FIFA international windows, meaning the Union had no obligation to release what was essentially their entire bench for the last four league games, the latest offensive struggles are part of a calculated risk.

“This last four-game stretch, we definitely took a risk with losing some depth and some bodies,” Curtin said. “(I) still think it was the right decision. I give our players a ton of credit for battling through it. Of course we want more points than we’ve got, but we knew it was going to be a challenging four games.”

McGlynn, Aaronson and Sullivan aren’t exactly riding in on white horses to save the day, no matter how much confidence they packed in their suitcases in San Pedro Sula. It’s not just because they have a combined zero goals and zero assists in 471 MLS minutes this season. It’s also because of the trio, only Aaronson has a natural position within the 4-4-2 diamond formation the Union has almost exclusively employed the last two seasons.

So the wrinkle introduced Sunday night, while the Union generated nothing of any consequence against the Crew, might come into play. Curtin rang the changes with a 3-4-1-2, in the absence of Jose Martinez, due to his red in Wednesday’s loss in Chicago. That formation opens different niches. Though it may not be in danger of becoming the default formation — in part because one of the other U-20s, Brandan Craig, would be the lone reserve center back, and he hasn’t played in MLS yet — it is an option.

That’s what the Union are looking for: If they’re not going to add from the outside, then juggling pieces internally for different looks and less predictability, is useful.

Ostensibly, the formation change was all about defense. Moving two players into central midfield compensated for the absence of Martinez, one of the few who can do the job alone. It also sought to ease the Union’s penchant for staying too narrow, adding Olivier Mbaizo and Kai Wagner as outside backs who can get forward. Given that the Union are the best defensive side in MLS, they can afford alterations to fix an offense that is only 16th-best in the league.

“I saw some things that we liked,” Curtin said. “… But it’s certainly something we could talk about, could you tweak it even more to get a Paxten out there as a second 10, to get a McGlynn or a Quinn? I think it can help with some of the personnel we have coming back.”

None of that fixes the lack of forward sharpness. Mikael Uhre has only three goals this season, though they’ve come in his last six appearances. Julian Carranza has cooled after a hot start; he’s got one assist and no goals in his last seven appearances. Sergio Santos remains marooned in Chile as his green card is being processed. Chris Donovan showed industry if little else in his first start.

Curtin, for his part, was happy by the response from his forwards, even if it resulted in a scant four shots and just two on target against the Crew.

“I was happy with the effort that both Cory (Burke) and Chris put into the game,” he said. “You could see the amount of aerial duels that Chris wins. And Cory, I think we can get the timing or running off each other a little bit better and always trusting that Chris is going to win his flicks and get someone running in behind. I thought they both worked hard. We needed a response from the disappointment in Chicago. I think we got that. We relied on four guys for fresh legs, and that helped, and this is a true team in that sense.”

The attacking positives remain slight. It comes within the context, of course, that the Union have the league’s sturdiest defense and are near the top of a conference where no one seems capable of taking a big lead.