Ad Disclosure
Indomitable Union Reclaim First Place with Nine Games to Play
Published:
While not a profound observation, the one thing that the Philadelphia Union do better than any other team in Major League Soccer is work harder. It’s not particularly close, either. They give opponents no quarter and play until the final whistle. They are relentless and indefatigable, which was on display once again on Saturday night with an 89th minute goal to claim three home points against Colorado:
Again they find a way, this time conceding a sloppy first goal, only to throw wave after wave at the Rapids (get it?…) and inevitably break through. They peppered Zack Steffen with 30 shots, 11 on goal, controlled 60% of the possession, attempted 496 passes, and pumped almost 20 corners and crosses into the box. They basically kept throwing themselves headfirst into the attack until the walls finally fell down, scoring their 8th and 9th goals this season past the 80th minute and into stoppage time. Five times they’ve used those goals to turn draws into wins, resulting in a +10 point swing.
That’s why they’re back atop the MLS standings with nine games to play. They jumped Cincinnati and Nashville, who stumbled over the weekend, while holding a four-point lead over San Diego in the Western Conference.
What was funny about this particular weekend was the juxtaposition of optics. The Union played a relatively quiet home game against a middling team from the other conference. Nobody had Philly vs. Colorado circled on their Matchday 27 calendar. They had Cincy vs. Miami in a game that Lionel Messi was suspended for, due to his non-participation in the midweek All-Star Game. That finished, somehow, 0-0. At the same time, Miami was introducing $15 million transfer Rodrigo De Paul, whose transfer fee is more than the top eight Union inbound transfers in franchise history. Yes, you are reading that correctly. Miami spent more money bringing in the Argentina World Cup winner from Atletico Madrid than the Union have spent all-time on Bruno Damiani, Mikael Uhre, Jamiro Monteiro, Danny Gazdag, Tai Baribo, Danley Jean-Jacques, David Occam, and Matej Oravec.
Miami may still go on a tear here, with three games in hand, and take the Shield, adding to a trophy cabinet that is already larger than the Union’s. But right here and now the Union are eight points in front while playing Moneyball. They have the slightest of edges over Cincy and Nashville and Columbus. Whether or not they can finish the job remains to be seen, but it’s incredible that they’ve built this affordable, blue collar, Red Bull grinder and they’re in 1st place with nine games left. And you can think whatever you want to think about this Union squad, but they are unrelenting and are not going to roll over. If they come up short in the end, it won’t be for a lack of effort.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com