Goalkeeper standing tall in Union’s playoff push
CHESTER, PA. » Like a screenwriter with a great feel for his cast, Jim Curtin’s blueprints for victory occasionally include a blank space. Instead of specifics, sometimes a Philadelphia Union scene ends with, “And then Andre Blake does a thing.”
The goalkeeper’s brilliance is often beyond what can be forecast. He possesses skill that the club has never had at any position, such untrammeled virtuosity that it can be taken for granted, made to look so routine when it’s anything but.
So it was Saturday night, in the Union’s 1-0 win over New England, that Blake was called upon four times, two of the saves of superlative quality. And when Curtin appraised how the Union’s three points came to pass, he was just as apt to discuss Blake’s goal denials as Cory Burke’s goal scoring.
“I think there are moments in seasons now – you can point to David Accam’s goal in Chicago, you could talk about the play that gets made by Ilsinho to make the New York City game comfortable,” Curtin said. “We talk about Andre Blake tonight and the performance he had where he basically gets us three points. These are moments that can define seasons, can shape seasons, and we need to use this momentum to recognize that we did not play our best tonight but we still found a way to get a result, which is very important.”
Burke scored in the 53rd minute, officially recognized in the 56th after his narrow offside call was overturned by video review. That enlivened a dead game, and it brought out the desperation in a Revs side staring at an eighth straight game without a win.
Enter Blake. In the 70th minute, Cristian Penilla hit a shot from the left channel that zoomed through a forest of legs and appeared ticketed for the far-side netting. But Blake rocketed out a hand to parry it around the post.
Ten minutes later, the Union’s defense was opened up on a break, right back Andrew Farrell floating a cross toward the left side of the box that forward Juan Agudelo met with his head and sent back against the grain. But Blake again popped a hand from nowhere to bat it away.
“Sometimes like today, you saw they were man-marking us all over the pitch so some other guys had to step up. Dre did that today,” midfielder Haris Medunjanin said. “… Dre was amazing today and he saved us a couple of times. But that’s why we have the best goalkeeper in our squad.”
“I think the team did a great job,” Blake said. “New England came in with a gameplan. I think overall we did well to stay in the game and I was happy to do whatever I can to help the team get three points.”
The Union (11-11-3, 36 points) have quietly solidified their grasp on fifth in the Eastern Conference. They are seven points clear of seventh-place New England, which they’ve beaten three times. The Union are three points up on Montreal in sixth with two games in hand; the teams meet at Talen Energy Stadium Sept. 15.
The Union also have a reasonable cushion over the rest of the playoff chasers. Ahead of D.C. United’s Sunday night game, the Union are nine points up on D.C., which has three games in hand. They meet Wednesday at Audi Field, where D.C. has nine games left to accrue enough points to crawl back into the postseason. The Union are nine up on Toronto, each team with nine games left.
But while D.C. and Toronto are trying to get hot for a late playoff charge, the Union already are hot. They’ve won three straight. If they can win either road game this week – Wednesday at D.C. or Saturday at last-place Orlando City, which is just 5-6-2 at home – the Union can place one foot in the postseason. It would ease some of the apprehension of resting regulars around the U.S. Open Cup final in late September, which jumbles the schedule to the tune of five games in 14 days.
Most importantly is how they’ve done it. Yes, the offense has sprung to life behind Burke, who has seven goals in seven starts and 10 in all competitions. But the Union have also kept consecutive shutouts. Jack Elliott was sensational against New England, pairing with Auston Trusty, who weathered a shaky first half and has played every minute this year. Keegan Rosenberry has been excellent, and Ray Gaddis turned in another solid performance, breaking Brian Carroll’s franchise record for MLS minutes played (13,869).
Then there’s Blake, never to be overlooked. Curtin reminded the media Wednesday of how big Blake was in last week’s 2-0 win over New York City FC, his highlight-reel save on Maxi Moralez in the second minute preventing disaster.
Against New England, his star turn came closer to the business end of the game. And the result was a result that past Union squads might have come up on the wrong side of.