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What’s the Ceiling for a Gritty Union Team that Continues to Win Games and Stack Points?
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It’s often said that good teams find ways to win games even when they don’t play very well. That concept was fully on display when the Union scratched out a late winner on Saturday night in Montreal to extend their winning streak to three:
That’s Jovan Lukic creating something out of absolutely nothing with a classic counter press and through ball. Credit to Mikael Uhre for immediately taking off and slipping the channel as soon as possession changed over. It’s exactly the type of goal they’re looking to score in this Red Bull-inspired system. Jar the ball loose, play direct in transition, score goals, win games, rinse and repeat.
You blink and the Union are second place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference with seven wins, three losses, and one draw. They’ve won three games in a row and carved out three points in Quebec despite a mediocre Montreal team controlling most of the game and winning the xG battle at the same time. When you think about Jim Curtin’s successful Union teams of recent years, these gritty smash and grab road games took place with some frequency, complementing the ubiquitous Subaru Park home thumpings.
What you’re seeing now is a Bradley Carnell-coached Union team that’s answered some of the questions we had back in March. Was the hot start a mirage? What would happen when they faced stiffer competition? What will it look like when teams like Miami exit the Champions Cup and focus on MLS play? The Union fell to Earth with a thud in April, trading all-time leading scorer Daniel Gazdag while going on a three-game winless skid in which they scored just one goal, but they turned around and answered the dip by hammering Atlanta and D.C. at home to climb right back up the table.
The question now is this:
What is this team’s ceiling?
They obviously have enough talent and grit and attitude to make the postseason. Considering the fact that we went into this season with no expectations, this has been a really nice surprise. They’ve got some new blood in the squad to complement the few remaining holdovers from the best era in franchise history. I think you’re just looking at their competition in the East and asking yourself how they stack up against Columbus, Cincinnati, Miami, and Charlotte in a meaningful, full-strength game. Per usual, the Union don’t have superstar individuals. There’s no Lionel Messi, Kevin Denkey, Evander, or Diego Rossi on this team. The CB tandem of Jakob Glesnes and Olwethu Makhanya, or Nathan Harriel, or post-injury Ian Glavinovich is going to be touch-and-go. Tai Baribo has been a little bit stuck in the mud after the blazing-hot start and record signing Bruno Damiani’s appearances have mostly come off the bench. There are some capable young guys to bring off the pine, but no Ilsinho or Cory Burke-esque obvious change of pace.
What they do have is Major League Soccer’s best left back in Kai Wagner, who has been sensational this season. Absolutely top class. He should be playing in Europe, and the fact that he’s still here is unfathomable. They have Andre Blake, who, if he played baseball, would have one of the league’s highest WAR numbers. They have a stellar double pivot of Lukic and Danley, who remind me a lot of the Marcelo Sarvas and Juninho combination that served the LA Galaxy well in their flat 4-4-2 over many seasons. They’ve got Quinn Sullivan working hard and playing well on the outside, with Frankie Westfield making a relatively smooth transition to the first team at right fullback.
All of this is really to say that the Union are worth your time. Are they going to win MLS Cup? Probably not. But they look like a playoff team and there’s no reason they can’t finish in the 4 to 7 range if they keep this up. Considering that Jay Sugarman isn’t going to spend big money on big players, we’re left with these “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” type of teams, and this is a pretty good one.
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