Union dealing with COVID-19 ahead of Eastern Conference title match
CHESTER » The Union plays its first Eastern Conference final in franchise history on Sunday, but COVID-19 concerns mean manager Jim Curtin is unsure which players he’ll have available.
The club had canceled training on Thursday and practiced with a diminished group on Friday, Curtin said afterward. While he declined to name specific players, he’s bracing for significant roster changes with multiple players in the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
“We will follow the league’s protocols, obviously, with the hope of having as many players available against New York City FC,” Curtin said.
The second-seeded Union host No. 4 New York City FC on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on 6ABC. The Union needed penalty kicks to advance past Nashville in Sunday’s conference semifinal, then earned hosting duties when NYCFC won in penalty kicks Tuesday in Foxborough, Mass., ousting topseeded New England, the Supporters’ Shield winners.
With NYCFC dealing with injuries and missing suspended striker Taty Castellanos, the MLS Golden Boot winner who was shown a red card in extra time Tuesday, the advantage appeared to be shifting to the Union. But COVID-19 has altered that. The Union will also know, from the result of Saturday’s Western Conference final between Portland and Real Salt Lake, if they’ll be playing Sunday for the opportunity to host the MLS Cup final.
Among those present at training Friday were regular starters Leon Flach, Olivier Mbaizo, Kacper Przybylko, Daniel Gazdag, Jamiro Monteiro and most
of the youthful Homegrown contingent. Citing privacy, Curtin would not say what brought certain unnamed players into COVID-19 protocols, be it close-contact exposure or confirmed positive tests.
He also was unsure if
there is a cutoff time for players to clear protocols to be ready. A team training session is scheduled for Saturday.
“There are no experts on this situation,” Curtin said. “…There’s certainly … the scientists, of course. But to say there’s experts and there’s a plan and this is exactly how it’s going to go, that’s not possible. How can there be, with something
none of us really know anything about?”
Despite the dour tone of his Zoom conference Friday, Curtin wrapped it up with a defiant note. The Union missed Monteiro for the first playoff game and Mbaizo for both postseason games. Curtin is hoping his club’s performance against NYCFC will be the next entry in that ledger of resilience.
“Our players have worked
tirelessly to get to this point,” he said. “I know they will be brave in the adversity they’re facing. We’ve stepped up in big moments all year long, whether it be international absences, the challenges of CONCACAF, players losing loved ones, adversity both on and off the field. This group always finds ways to step up. I expect this weekend to be more of the same.”