Curtin may have to rely on Simpson against RSL
The salaries indicate that the Union’s choice for a replacement forward this weekend, if one is needed, should be easy. The reality is anything but that simple.
Jay Simpson is in the picture to get a start in Saturday’s visit from Real Salt Lake (7:30, PHL17). But it’s hardly the cutand-dry proposition that the club would’ve hoped, given its substantial financial commitment to the English striker.
Cory Burke, who opened the scoring in last week’s slumpbusting 2-0 win in Montreal, is suspended for a red card. CJ Sapong (quad/groin) is questionable after a heavy knock sustained late in last Wednesday’s loss in Columbus. Sapong has a quad contusion that manager Jim Curtin said Sapong could play through, and a groin strain that is less forgiving.
As of Wednesday, Sapong had not trained fully with the group, an ominous sign for his starting hopes on the weekend. He missed the Montreal game as well.
That leaves the only other out-and-out forward on the roster, Simpson. But Curtin also name-checked Fafa Picault and David Accam, nominally wing forwards in the 4-2-3-1, as options up top in a departure from the usual hold-up play expected from that role.
“David has played up there and I think we saw in the 4-41, he caused a couple of problems for Montreal,” Curtin said Wednesday at his weekly press conference. “He can do it. I think
Fafa can do it also. We’ll have a decision to make where it comes to matchups and where we think we can get at Salt Lake.”
Curtin added that Simpson looked sharp in training. But he has made just two appearances, both as a sub totaling 39 minutes, and has made the matchday 18 just three times all season. Simpson was not included on the three-game road swing to Toronto, Columbus and Montreal.
Simpson scored just one goal in 22 games (four starts) last season, owing in large part to a career season of 16 goals by Sapong that made him irreplaceable
in the starting lineup. But that lack of opportunity has perhaps lessened Simpson’s readiness to capitalize on a chance. Neither Picault nor Accam has a goal this season, though both have more history as a scorer in MLS.
••• The other end of the field presents a selection challenge for Curtin out of an abundance, not scarcity, of options. Curtin was mightily impressed with Mark McKenzie’s performance in Montreal, pairing with Auston Trusty and Keegan Rosenberry to mute the danger posed by Ignacio Piatti. It was the kind of performance that makes it difficult for Curtin to remove him from the lineup.
“There’s a big thought of that,” Curtin said of McKenzie preserving his place ahead of Jack Elliott. “Guys get opportunities, when guys step on the field and are called upon, just like Cory stepped up, just like Fafa had a good performance for us, that gets the coaching staff’s eye. We still have to look at matchups, have to look at the opponent’s No. 9, their tendencies, where they are on the field. … There’s things you weigh with each player.”
Richie Marquez (sports hernia) worked to the side of training Wednesday, and Curtin expects him back on the field next week. The one down note is that Josh Yaro remains in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in training with Bethlehem Steel last week. It’s yet another injury setback for the third-year pro.