Philly welcomes DC United to Talen Energy Stadium for the third, and final, regular season meeting between the two clubs. These bottom dwellers are looking to be dark horses in the super competitive eastern conference. Before either can get to that level, they will need wins and have other results go their way.
The Union need a rebound after falling 2-0 to Red Bull last weekend. DC, who hadn’t scored a goal in league play since April, Beat Atlanta this past Wednesday. They’re bringing momentum with them to Chester. The Union will look to stop that momentum and build some of their own.
To build momentum, the Union will need to remember back to their five game unbeaten streak. They will need find a way to stay consistent on the defensive end, and also get production form their attacking midfielders. These inconsistencies have plagued the Union in both of this seasons winless streaks. Let’s take a look at some examples of what’s going wrong, and look at how the Union can correct them.
Defensive issues:
The Union have depth on the back line for the first time in a long time. However, there’s a serious problem with defensive lapses that have doomed the Union in recent games.
https://twitter.com/TotalMLS/status/871076590234554368
The Union have had trouble with restarts this season; particularly from corners. As you can see from how the Union let NYCFC equalize a few games back. The defenders are slow to react to the incoming ball. Two people are marking one man, a free runner is allowed to jump in the box, another NYCFC player is open after beating his man, and Blake is left in no mans land. The free header beats the Union and killed their momentum. This trait allowed NYCFC to realize how to attack the Union later in the game.
https://twitter.com/TotalMLS/status/871078144152915968
Another corner was sent in and originally dealt with by the Union, but there was failure to clear, and then a failure to step up. The Ball was allowed to bounce in the box and NYCFC picked it up. Four Union players stood in the middle of the box and relied on Blake to make a point-blank save, which he did. The Union defenders then didn’t account for a rebound. Two NYCFC players were free to pick up the rebound, Callen’s took the opportunity and won it for NYCFC.
The Union’s defense during restarts and second chances has been atrocious as of late. The fix for this will come in training and discipline. Jim Curtin will have this team work on defending set pieces and working to win the ball on first and second chances. The other problem has occurred on transition attacks.
Finally.@TheRealBWP grabs a late goal for @NewYorkRedBulls. #PHIvNY https://t.co/RaYnnmRnxU
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 18, 2017
When the Union’s attack stalls, and the defensive shape is compromised, the Union have trouble snuffing out opposition transitions. The Union’s defenders, who dominated the five game winning streak (Fabinho, Onyewu, Elliot and Gaddis) have shown flaws in transition defending. This first goal agaisnt Red Bull last week shows the struggle. A ball that wasn’t dealt with by the midfielders was sent out to Gaddis’ side. He was slow to react, Elliot couldn’t deal with the ball put in the box, Onyewu was slow to react to Wright-Phillips’ run, and the Union were killed after fighting hard for 87 minutes. They did this to themselves again but from the other side of the field not five minutes later.
Him again!@TheRealBWP makes it two. #PHIvNY https://t.co/4wzOFXnlR6
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 18, 2017
On this transition Elliot moves up to combat the cross field run. He couldn’t stop the pass. Fabinho stepped up, but didn’t put in a hard challenge on the ball. The cross came in towards Wright-Phillips, Onyewu let him go by because he thought he had help from Elliot on the back side, but the Englishman was out of position, and the Union lost by two.
These transition defense shows the lack of pace and grit on the back line. Even though the Union were down a man to Red Bull, they still had chances to get a tie from the match. The few lapses on the defensive end killed any chance of that. This coupled with the set piece mistakes have doomed the Union in recent matches. Change comes from discipline, practice and winning. the Union hope for all three of these versus DC.
Lack of attacking midfield production:
Since the departure of Tranquillo Barnetta this past offseason, the Union have struggled to get any kind of production from anyone playing the number 10 role. Now almost halfway through the season the Union don’t have a single assist from their CAM’s.
Playing as a #10, key pass per minute stats:
Bedoya: 112.5 mins per key pass
Alberg: 285 mins per key pass
Ilsinho: 86.6 mins per key pass— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) June 23, 2017
The Union have played three players in their number ten role, and as you can see from the stats Kevin Kinkead points out, none of them have done enough to create good attacking options. Alejandro Bedoya started the season there and looked uncomfortable. He’s better in the deeper roles, but put him with his back to goal, and he can’t function well. Alberg did a little better with his back to goal, but offered little in the few starts he had. His lack of production shows the disappointment he’s been since being with the club. Ilsinho moved inside to help the club out and found some success moving the ball. This was short-lived, and his lack of pace makes him a liability on fast break attempts. The Union need an answer at the 10, and one might be here soon.
This could go down as soon as tomorrow according to the report. https://t.co/HY9NJsS3fT
— Philadelphia Soccer Now (@phlsoccernow) June 22, 2017
Elías Aguilar, Costa Rican international was training with the Union this past week. While Jim Curtin has said that he is “just training” It appears an offer may be on the table for the 25-year-old. Here’s some of his highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li1fFeXDfAI
The Union’s attacking midfield play has been under-par with the rest of the league. Kevin Kinkead shows some interesting comparisons here. Maybe Aguilar can come in and help the Union’s attack click. For now, they will have to rely on Ilsinho or Alberg to do it.
Philly take on DC tonight at 7PM. Here’s my predicted lineup:
Blake; Fabinho, Onyewu, Elliot, Gaddis; Bedoya, Medunjanin; Fafa, Ilsinho, Pontius; Sapong.
Maybe the Union can start a new streak to add to their streak-full 2017.
The Union have been a streaky team in 2017. Starting the season on a non-winning streak, transitioning into a five game unbeaten streak, and then digressing to a three game losing streak. The Union need to get back on the positive end of streaking against DC. To do this Philly will need to fix their recent defensive mistakes and also get some kind of production from the attacking midfielders.
If the Union can do this in this match against DC, the blueprint will be in their hands. The groundwork of success was already laid in the recent five game winning streak, now the Union have to get back to those winning habits. The season may still be half full, but a bad result in a game against another eastern conference bottom dweller could get the Union back on track.
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Follow me on twitter @TGing21 for Soccer Twitter fun! Coming soon: A look at the problems the offense is having, and a recap of how the Union did against DC. Until then, peace out!
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
