If you ever doubted the unpredictability and parity that exists in Major League Soccer, look no further than Sunday’s game pitting the Union against the New York Red Bulls.
Despite playing without some of their most important players and in the midst of a historically bad season, the Union managed to win their first-ever game at Red Bull Arena with a surprising 2-0 triumph over one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
How did the Union pull it off? And now, after winning two straight games over big rivals following a dreadful 1-7-3 start, can they keep the momentum going? Let’s take a look in this week’s Inside Doop.
Three thoughts on Sunday’s game
1. Without the services of captain Maurice Edu, leading scorer Fernando Aristegueita, starting defenders Ray Gaddis and Steven Vitoria and others, the Union predictably endured a lot of pressure in the first half. But their plan to stay organized in the back and strike on the counter worked to a charm when Vincent Nogueira put one in against the run of play to give the Union a 1-0 lead early in the second half. And from there, the team’s confidence really seemed to grow as they added another goal, made some impressive runs forward and kept the Red Bulls off the scoreboard — a far cry from earlier in the season when you could sense that the Union almost expected something to go wrong, especially when they had a second-half lead.
2. One reason why the Union came alive in the second half was the play of C.J. Sapong, who was only cleared to play a couple of days before the game after successfully completing a league rehabilitation program following his DUI arrest. Sapong came on earlier than expected with Conor Casey exiting early in the second half with a groin injury and immediately made his presence felt, not only scoring the game’s second goal but using his speed and size to take advantage of the Red Bulls’ equally makeshift backline. Sapong’s season has been extremely disjointed with his facial fracture and his arrest but if he can stay on the field, he adds a much-needed element to the Union’s inconsistent attack.
3. To be fair, Sapong’s goal wasn’t too difficult. That’s because Fabinho — yes, Fabinho — made a spectacular individual play to set him up, stepping in front of a Red Bull pass, performing a nice give-and-go with Cristian Maidana and earning his second assist in as many weeks with a perfect cross. Afterwards, Union coach Jim Curtin called it Fabinho’s best game in a Union uniform — and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. But let’s not forget he also had perhaps his worst game in a Union uniform exactly a month ago (in Philly’s 4-1 loss to Columbus), so the highs and lows with the Brazilian fullback can be rather extreme.
Three questions for the week ahead
1. It’s been an interesting stretch for the Union, who lost a franchise-tying four straight games before reeling off two consecutive unlikely wins against their two biggest rivals — D.C. United and the Red Bulls. Now, the Union play D.C. United for the second time in three weeks for a Saturday night tilt at RFK Stadium (7 p.m., TCN), adding another unique element. Can the Union really win three straight rivalry games, including two on the road and two against the Eastern Conference’s first-place team? What will the revenge factor be like for D.C. United? Will a loss send the Union spiraling downward again as they prepare for a tough June that includes games against Columbus, Seattle and the Los Angeles Galaxy? As far as May games go, this one just got pretty big as the Union are making a big push to save their once-left-for-dead season.
2. Curtin doesn’t like to change the lineup too much after wins but he’ll likely have to do some tinkering due to injuries and returns. The big player coming back is captain Edu, who served a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. The question there is whether he’ll slot in at center back for Ethan White or Richie Marquez or if he’ll take over at the defensive midfield spot for Brian Carroll. If you also factor in center back Vitoria’s impending return, it seems likelier that Edu will play in the midfield, where Curtin will hope he forms a good partnership with playmakers Nogueira and Maidana, both of whom are starting to get into gear after injury-plagued starts.
3. Curtin will also need to once again look at his goalkeeping situation, although it’s unlikely he’ll make a change after Brian Sylvestre posted two straight shutouts and made a huge save on star Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips in the second half Sunday. What does that mean for John McCarthy, who started five straight games after Rais Mbolhi’s benching set off the goalkeeping carousel and is back from a concussion? Will the job be Sylvestre’s to lose until former top overall pick Andre Blake returns from his second knee injury of the year? It’s almost hard to envision a stable situation at goalkeeper for the Union but maybe Sylvestre has earned that for the time being.
Stat of the week
The Union are now 1-5-1 all-time in league play at Red Bull Arena and 1-6-1 in all competitions at New York’s home stadium. Before Sunday, the only game the Union didn’t lose at Red Bull Arena was a scoreless draw on Aug. 17, 2013.
Quote of the week
“It’s a funny league and certainly a funny conference. I talked all week to my guys about how our season could go one of two ways. We’re either one win less than them or we’re really getting separated and left in the dust. I think our guys took that to heart.” - Union coach Curtin
Player of the week
Fabinho got the spot start with Gaddis injured and was perhaps the best player on the field, making the offensive play of the game and also helping preserve the shutout with some key clearances.