“As far as the first big test, we get an A+,” says Curtin following monumental night for Union

Philadelphia Union Head Coach was all smiles following his team’s impressive 3-1 home win against fellow Eastern Conference elites Atlanta United FC. Curtin has now coached the Union to the MLS Cup Playoffs in three of the past four seasons. Last night, Curtin was a proud coach.

Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

In front of a third consecutive sell-out crowd at Talen Energy Stadium, the Philadelphia Union came from behind to defeat Atlanta United FC 3-1 thanks to three second-half goals from Brenden Aaronson, Kacper Przybylko, and Sergio Santos. But more importantly, Union Head Coach Jim Curtin earns yet another playoff appearance in his Philadelphia tenure.

“Full credit to our players and the work that they’ve put in,” said Curtin after the win. “They went toe-to-toe with the defending champions and came out on top. I’m a proud coach right now and again, I’d like to thank all the players for their effort and everything that they gave tonight.”

What they gave was a near clean sheet performance while playing attractive and explosive soccer without backing down one inch against Atlanta. And that’s not hyperbolic either.

Atlanta entered the match with heavy legs considering their midweek US Open Cup title match and the travel to Philadelphia limited recovery time. But, Philadelphia executed their gameplan and found a way to scrape their way back into the match following a back-breaking goal from Josef Martinez before halftime.

One would expect a goal moments before the halftime whistle to let some air out of Philly’s tires heading into the second half. But Curtin relied on his player’s character and grit once more to fight through the adversity.

“We didn’t pass the ball particularly well in the first half. We made the wrong decision on the final pass about five or six times. But, there was a belief in this group that we could go toe-to-toe with them,” said Curtin of the locker room atmosphere at the half.

Martinez’s goal was practically unstoppable. Mark McKenzie was a tad slow in an attempt to disrupt the give and go atop the box between Atlanta’s Martinez and Darlington Nagbe but ultimately, the quality needed to pull that sequence off is quite difficult to thwart.

The second half was all Philadelphia though.

15 minutes into the second half, 19-year old Brenden Aaronson found himself on the end of a perfectly-lofted pass from Haris Medunjanin. Medunjanin, sporting the captain’s armband in place of the suspended Alejandro Bedoya, gathered a loose ball thanks to a solid tackle from center back Jack Elliott. Medunjanin picked his head up and chipped a ball up and over Atlanta’s backline where Aaronson took a few touches before burying a shot between Brad Guzan’s leg and into the net for the equalizer in the 61st minute.

Aaronson, who was simply happy to be back in the starting lineup last week, scored for the second consecutive match. His third career MLS goal may be the most important goal of his Philadelphia tenure for some time.

Philadelphia then turned it on. Curtin urged his men to play fast but responsibly in the second half after the first goal. Sergio Santos was sent on for Aaronson in the 77th minute and in doing so, Santos turned the game upside down.

Prior to last night, Santos last saw game action with Philadelphia on July 13th with 45 minutes of play. But you wouldn’t have noticed from his efforts last night.

In just 23 minutes of action, Santos created the game-winning goal and tallied an insurance goal to power Philadelphia past Atlanta. The Brazilian, who struggles with English, exploded on the scene last night for Philadelphia and his skills, size, and power will be crucial if they are to make a playoff run.

Santos’ assist created Przybylko’s team-leading 13th goal in the 86th minute with a crisp cut back pass inside the box which Przybylko blasted past Guzan on the near post.

Two minutes later, Santos booked it down the field and found himself all alone just outside the six-yard box to slam home Pryzbylko’s pass. Santos celebrated in emphatic fashion, removing his jersey and GPS tracking undershirt with relief painted across his face.

“Sergio’s been fighting to get back after his injury. He’s just a guy that defenders don’t like to play against, especially when he comes on with fresh legs,” said Curtin of the soon-to-be 25-year old. “You saw a lot of emotion come out on the cut back ball. I think he’s finally listening and learning – I know he doesn’t fully understand the language.”

The final whistle blew moments later, fans rejoiced, fireworks were shot into the night sky, and Union players, fans, and staff went home happy.

“A lot of people probably didn’t expect us to get three points tonight,” admitted Curtin. “But I think we made a pretty big statement about what the Philadelphia Union is all about tonight.”

But for Curtin, the win was extra special. “There’s no better preparation for the playoffs then playing the best teams – and these are the best teams that our league has,” said Curtin. “Maybe the Philadelphia union can start to be talked about in this group for that season and that’s something our players have earned and deserved and I’m proud of that.”

“Maybe the Philadelphia union can start to be talked about in this group for that season and that’s something our players have earned and deserved and I’m proud of that.” – Jim Curtin

For now, MLS pundits are forced to reckon with the fact that Philadelphia is worthy of being in the elite discussion. But only time will tell if Philly can remain on top.

With LAFC set to visit Chester September 14th, Curtin and his team will face the third and final grueling test in what will be the third and final home match of this late-season home stretch.

“It’s important that we don’t get too high or too low but we recognize now it’s a good three points and we’ve set ourselves up now in a good spot to probably host a home playoff game at this point,” said Curtin. “Then we’ll have a real test. I told you guys early on in the season when you asked how good we were, I said I’d circle the Atlanta and the LAFC game to tell us because those are the two best teams – New York City [ FC] as well. As far as the first big test, we get an A+.”

A few hours after Talen Energy Stadium emptied out and fans were back in their homes, Philadelphia officially clinched a playoff spot thanks to a San Jose Earthquakes victory over Orlando City SC. Curtin could go to bed a playoff coach once more.