Tired legs a likely issue in loss to RSL

Winning breeds stability in the mind of Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin, which he in turns believes will beget more winning.

But a more nuanced interpretation of that equation suggests a slightly different answer on occasion.

Saturday, Curtin lamented a side that “couldn’t get out of first gear” in a 1-0 loss to struggling Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. The humble suggestion could be a touch of fatigue, particularly after a long flight to play at altitude.

Certified Union killer Joao Plata scored in the 36th minute, ensuring that for the 10th meeting between the clubs, the Union remained winless against RSL (04-6), one of only two non-expansion clubs with such a spotless alltime record against the Union.

Curtin is pathologically reticent to cite fatigue in his players. In recent weeks, he’s stuck to his guns by preserving continuity in his lineup and it’s worked for the resurgent Union (4-5-4, 16 points).

But Saturday appeared a game too many on the legs. He deployed his preferred lineup for a third time in 15 days. Including a midweek game, nine of the cogs in Saturday’s XI have started four games in that span; a 10th, Chris Pontius, has played the majority of the four after replacing the injured Fabian Herbers last week.

That’s near the minimum possible level of squad rotation. And that exertion could account for the dearth of sharpness that did in the Union, ending a six-game unbeaten streak and franchise-best four-game winning streak.

“Overall, not a good enough performance from us on the road,” Curtin said. “For whatever reason, we couldn’t get out of first gear. We were a little bit sluggish and slow to win balls, to win second balls. We did have three good chances in the second half. We got in behind them a couple of times. When you don’t take your chances on the road, it can come back to get you.”

Curtin has lamented the catch-22 proposition he’s faced with during a backlog of games. Change and disrupt what’s working, or remain faithful and risk tiredness: It’s a no-win situation when you don’t win.

Saturday, though, the heavy legs titled the scale into RSL’s favor. The attack had little juice, with Ilsinho offering a ghostly performance and wingers Fafa Picault and Pontius less impactful than in recent weeks. Though industrious, Alejandro Bedoya lacked his recent stamp on proceedings. (His fitness was one to push, given a likely departure to join the U.S. national team for World Cup qualifiers.) Once the Union got down, Ray Gaddis’ attacking shortcomings were placed into deeper focus.

The goal was another unwelcomed holdover from last week. Much as Colorado’s Caleb Calvert prised open the defense last week, Plata did the job for RSL (4-8-2, 14 points). The attacking move started with a Tony Beltran recovery of a wayward Pontius cross 12 yards from his own goal line on the right wing. In 24 seconds, through a succession of 1-2s between Plata and Jefferson Savarino against a discombobulated backline, the ball was in the back of the net. The lightning-quick strike illustrates the danger Curtin has warned of when his team allows its shape to become stretched and warped.

Positives were limited for the Union. Andre Blake made a season-high seven saves, his most since the 2016 season opener in Dallas, several of exquisite vintage. But a goalkeeper’s excellence often relies on deficiencies in front of him: The Union relented a season-high in shots on target (eight) and equaled a seasonhigh in total shots (16).

“I think it was a good performance,” Blake said. “Obviously I got scored on so for me it’s not the best. But it’s good that I was able to make some saves to keep my team in the game, keep it at 1-0 and it’s just tough luck that we weren’t able to get one back.”

The Union nearly scored in the 17th minute when RSL defender Aaron Maund cleared a Picault header off the line. Goalie Nick Rimando was called to action in the third minute of second-half stoppage time to pound away a swerving free kick by Haris Medunjanin, the danger subsequently cleared from the box after a few anxious moments.

Roland Alberg returned from a three-game absence due to a quad strain for 19 minutes. Also notable was the MLS debut of Marcus Epps, the second-round SuperDraft pick who logged the final seven minutes.

“It was a great experience,” Epps said. “I would’ve loved to have gotten the result team-wise, but personally, it was an honor to step on the field. Coach gave me my instructions to attack and get at them, and it was good to come in and make an impact and share this moment with the team.”

But the positives were insufficient to eke out a result against the battered hosts desperately in need of one.

“Playing on the road is hard in this league,” Curtin said. “It’s tough. … To be honest, we had some chances, a couple at the very end of the game. On a different night, maybe we could squeeze a draw and steal a point out of it, but overall just kind of not sharp enough from everybody as a group.”