Union vs. Real Salt Lake
7:00 p.m. on CSN
After suffering their worst loss of the season, a 5-1 thrashing by the Montreal Impact, and getting ejected from the U.S. Open Cup by the New England Revolution, the Union (8-7-6) will regroup and return home on Sunday night to challenge Joao Plata and Real Salt Lake (8-6-7) at Talen Energy Stadium.
Here are five things to know:
1. Recovery Path
It’s been a rough couple months for the former first-place Union. In all competitions since June 18, they are 3-5-1 (2-4-1 in MLS), and sinking in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s been a tough stretch,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “We would’ve like to get a few more points, but we like where we’re at in the table. We set ourselves up to play in front, which is different than last year when we were chasing it at this point.”
But while Curtin identifies the Union’s recent lag as tough scheduling during the summer, he knows the turnaround needs to begin at home against Real Salt Lake. With 13 games remaining in the season, the club risks falling behind in the conference even further.
“We know there’s urgency,” he said. “We need to close out the season out in the right way, and we expect to do that starting at home against Salt Lake on Sunday.”
A portion of that urgency is generated from the team’s need to erase the 5-1 loss to the Impact they embarrassingly suffered last weekend. Though Curtin shook it off as a one-off defeat, the club hopes it doesn’t trigger a confidence drain.
“It wasn’t a good representation of us,” Curtin said. “Or the work the guys have done all year. But we move on, we look forward to the new challenge. I know my guys will bounce back against Salt Lake in this building, they’re itching to get back on the field.”
2. Fixing the Defense
As Curtin put it, the Union need to “close out the season out in the right way,” starting on Sunday. But to do that, they need to play a defensively sound style -- something they’ve gotten away from in recent weeks.
The Union have allowed 17 goals in their last seven games.
“We’ve given up too many goals in that stretch,” Curtin said. “That’s what jumps out. It’s no longer a one-off, it’s a trend. We’re giving up too many goals.”
The latest defensive flop, which Curtin chalked up to lack of focus and a push for too much pressure on the road, was allowing five goals to the Impact. And though it was painful, the loss may work as a wake-up call for the Union.
“Prevalent in all of our psyches is the humbling experience that we did have,” Union forward C.J. Sapong said. “That’s only going to give us motivation to show we’re made of more. We know we are, it’s about us proving it.”
3. Struggles in Salt Lake
The season has gone dry for RSL of late, though that doesn’t mean the club has been poor. Salt Lake is winless in its last six games but has grinded out four draws over that span.
“We see it as an opportunity to go on the road and pick up some points,” RSL’s Luke Mulholland said. “That’s where all our focus is on this week. It’s always great to have games at home, but the away games have been falling for us recently, it isn’t the worst thing to go on the road for a couple games and see if we can come back for a few points.”
As usual, Curtin isn’t buying into the struggles of his opposition.
“Salt Lake is a very good team,” he said. “And a very dangerous team. They’re in a bit of a cold spell. They will come in here with a bit of a chip on their shoulder and something to prove.”
But what makes RSL such an interesting cause is its allowed seven goals but only scored three times in the six-game winless run. It’s that return to offensive prominence.
“The scary thing is that they could break out,” he said. “That’s what we have to prevent.”
4. Keep an eye on
Real Salt Lake - Joao Plata: With leading scorer Yura Movsisyan out for Sunday, it’ll be up to playmaker Plata to find the Union’s weak spots. Plata, in addition to his five goals, leads RSL with seven helpers on the season.
Union - Roland Alberg: He will be leaned on to pace the Union attack with Tranquillo Barnetta out with a yellow-card accumulation suspension. Curtin will likely add a more defensive Warren Creavalle to Barnetta’s box-to-box midfield spot, leaving Alberg as the go-to in the Union midfield.
5. This and that
• Good news for the Union: Maurice Edu, who suffered a fractured leg in the preseason and has been out all year, is in full training with the club. He will not dress on Sunday, however.
“In terms of the change of direction, going into tackles, fighting, he looked very good,” Curtin said. “I think it’s getting better and better each day. I’m excited for the rest of the season, I’m excited with him playing a role down the stretch.”
• Andre Blake and Keegan Rosenberry make their return from the MLS All-Star game, which happened on Thursday. The MLS All Stars lost to Arsenal, 2-1.
• The Union are 0-2-6 against RSL all time and 0-0-4 at Talen Energy Stadium.