Union fighting off frustration as scoring slump persists

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CHESTER, Pa. — If the Union are panicking over their offensive power outage, they aren’t showing it. 

“We’ll score. We’ll score,” Union winger Fafa Picault said. “It’s not really a worry. We’re gelling. It’s gonna work. It’s gonna be fine. No worries.”

They might be without worry, but they aren’t without frustration. Despite outplaying the Earthquakes Saturday night at Talen Energy Stadium, the Union were forced into a sour, come-from-behind 1-1 draw (see observations). They outshot the visitors, 22-9, but had little to show for it. That lone score, a back-post header from Alejandro Bedoya, was just the club’s third goal in four matches. 

“I’m frustrated,” Bedoya said. “It’s crap to tie that game. Nothing against San Jose, but to play like that in the first half and not get anything out of it. We need to have a sense of urgency in the final third, get more guys in the box and make more decisive runs. It’s not good enough. We let ourselves down.”

It’s difficult to pinpoint what’s wrong. With newcomers David Accam and Borek Dockal in the mix, chemistry is a potential issue. But Union manager Jim Curtin doesn’t think that’s the problem.

“I can’t say that there is a lack of chemistry or something wasn’t there,” he said. “They created a ton. We had San Jose pretty much scrambling from the opening whistle, really threatened their backline. It’s a night that’s going to be frustrating to think about. We’re going to lose some sleep because it should’ve been three points.” 

Curtin also called it one of those snakebitten nights. But if the Union were cursed, Ilsinho was the spell breaker. The skillful Brazilian entered the match for Accam in the 63rd minute and had an instant impact, making a key drive that led to Bedoya’s goal in the 64th. 

“We wanted to inject some life into the game,” Curtin said. “Ilsinho came in, we switched Fafa to the left and it had an immediate impact because the guys executed and made a play.”

Bedoya seemed refreshed by what Ilsinho added to the Union attack. 

“He definitely brought a spark to the game and added something,” the captain said. “But that’s what we expect from the guys who come in as subs. When there are tired legs, we need guys to come in and contribute.”

Ilsinho wasn’t the only bright spot. Returning from a three-game suspension for a preseason incident, Picault was the most active player on the field, giving Curtin reason to be optimistic.

“He didn’t show a lot of rust for having missed game minutes,” the manager said. “We’re happy with the effort that he put in. He changed the team a bunch and gave us a real spark. On a different night, we could’ve had four or five goals.” 

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