Union find a way to win ugly in league game
A month into the 2021 season, the Union have been defined by the ability to grind out results in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Saturday, to open their MLS account, the Union finally translated that identity league play.
They summoned the toughness in the second half, goals by Cory Burke and Jakob Glesnes fueling a 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire in a battle of previously winless sides.
Neither goal was a portrait of beauty, Burke’s coming three touches after a throw-in, Glesnes nodding home an errant shot by Kai Wagner off a recycled corner kick. But these type of workmanlike wins had eluded the Union, with three previous decent efforts yielding just one point.
“We needed to find a way to get an ugly win,” manager Jim Curtin said. “And that comes on the road when you score off a throwin and off of a restart. This is kind of the most beautiful, ugly way to win on the road.”
The Union (1-2-1, 4 points) start with momentum in a busy week that brings New England and New York Red Bulls to Chester, culminating nine games in 31 days. It builds on progress last week in CONCACAF competition, the draw with Atlanta United leaving the Union as MLS’s lone representative in the semifinals.
Saturday’s task was foremost at the offensive end: The Union have scored nine goals in four CCL games but just once in MLS. Burke changed that in the 51st minute.
“I knew today was going to be a great day,” Burke said. “From last night, I laid in bed and I felt it. I spoke with my agent about it as well. Today, I knew I would score.”
Olivier Mbaizo, who had a strong game as the Union flooded the attacking right, one-hopped a throw-in to the box. Burke cushioned a header toward an overlapping Jamiro Monteiro, and the midfielder one-touched a pass back to Burke for the Jamaican to volley home a vicious left-footed effort.
Nine minutes later, a Monteiro corner kick was cleared only as far as Wagner. What looked like a shot that the left back had aimed at the far post instead found Glesnes on the edge of the six, the Norwegian center back heading home his second career goal.
For all the aesthetically pleasing but unfulfilled counterattacks in recent weeks, a couple of greasier goals is just fine with Curtin.
“We stuck together through the difficult times,” Burke said. “We know it’s been coming, we worked hard in practice and we showed it today. We stuck together and played hard, everyone was on top of their game and we came away with the victory.”
The Union ceded 60 percent possession to the Fire (0-3-1, 1 point) but led in total attempts (15-9) and shots on target (5-3). It took a stellar save from Bobby Shuttleworth to paddle away a Burke header off Mbaizo’s service in the 15th minute. Chicago right back Boris Sekulic twice provided goal-line clearances on Union homegrown Jack McGlynn within seconds in the 16th minute.
Otherwise, the 17-yearold McGlynn was solid in a 62-minute shift, becoming the youngest Union Homegrown to start since Zach Pfeffer in 2011.
“It felt great,” he said. “The day before in training, I found out I was going to start. It’s a great feeling. And walking out was surreal. It’s a really big stadium, really loud crowd so it was a surreal feeling for me.”
The Fire generated precious little in stretching a home winless streak to 10 games (0-5-5). Andre Blake made three saves but wasn’t seriously challenged until deep in stoppage time when he supplied an outstanding one-handed denial of Chinonso Offor. Robert Beric, who scored 12 goals last year, was generally muzzled by Glesnes and Jack Elliott, flubbing a rare opening in the 53rd minute.
After back-to-back league losses at home, the Union got back to their defensive best. They’ve kept clean sheets in five of eight games in all competitions, allowing just five goals.
It was hardly one for the ages. But whatever nets three points is fine by Curtin.
“This was your typical game that no one will remember at the end of the year — except maybe Jack McGlynn because he got his debut — but we got the three points,” Curtin said. “You have to find ways over the 34 games to grind them out.”