Loss to FC Dallas fuels Union, ready for Fire

Friday, May 20, 2011
Posted: 10 a.m.

By Ryan Bright
CSNPhilly.com Contributor

CHESTER, Pa. -- The lopsided 2-0 defeat to FC Dallas on Saturday marked a low point in the Unions otherwise surprisingly positive second season. After 25 minutes of strong and refreshing offensive attack, the Union faltered, lost their composure and eventually the game, providing little more than a whimper as the final whistle rang.

Instead of try to wipe away the less than stellar effort from his squads memory, coach Peter Nowak aims to use it as fuel while the Union work to redeem themselves against the one-win Chicago Fire, Saturday at PPL Park.

It was a good wake-up call for all of us, said Nowak, whose team stands second in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3-2 record. I think we have enough experience in the locker room to notice that and to find the best solution for that and continue the way we work.

For Nowak, the solution to their Dallas problem is consistency, while also rewinding the team back to what made them successful to begin with.

We played the best 25 minutes weve played so far, said Nowak with regards to the teams early assault on Dallas. For whatever reason, we moved back and didnt try to do more. We started to lose the edge and once we started to lose it, the other team picked it up.

We need to go back to the basics. As a group, we need to make the game difficult for the other team. The edge, the first 30 minutes were very good and we moved back to the different part of us that didnt make us successful in the first place.

Despite an offense that has scored only six goals in nine games, one aspect of the Unions early success was their ability to pace play and produce shut-down defense. With that in place, the team could counter-attack themselves into result points. But with the defense on the fritz, giving up four goals in three games in a winless three-game span, 0-2-1, Nowak is looking to hit the refresh button.

In the past couple weeks or so, weve played a good 45 minutes here and there, said Nowak. We play well with a gun to our head. We need to keep focus on playing 90 minutes and the focus was very clear from the coaching staff this week that we need to play a full 90 minutes.

Facing the Fire, who have four draws in their last four games and have only four goals during that time, the Union have an strong opportunity to get back on track. PPL Park will also provide a boost for the Union, who post a 3-0-2 record when playing the host, while the Fire are winless away from Toyota Park, with a 0-2-3 record, 1-3-5 overall.

However, Nowak isnt fooled by the Fires struggles to win.

Theyve been a bit unlucky, said the manager. They showed last week against Toronto (a two-goal comeback to result in the 2-2 draw) that they are a team that will fight until the end. Our focus is to play 90 minutes.

The Unions defensive attention will have to be paid to midfielder Marco Pappa and striker Diego Chaves, who lead the Fire with four goals a piece.

Marco Pappa is a guy who creates a lot of things, said Nowak, who described him as a quick-strike counter-attack type of player.

He has a lot of freedom and doesnt always have to come back to get the ball. The Fire found a good way to find his strengths and limit his weaknesses defensively. With his speed and creativity, he can utilize that in his favor. We have to keep an eye on that.

For the Union, who only have four combined goals from their strikers, Carlos Ruiz, Danny Mwanga, Sebastien Le Toux, the game plan is simple -- find chemistry.

The point of this week was to fix the things from the game against Dallas, said Le Toux. Try to get everyone on the same page.

Return of the Mondragon
Suffering a groin strain in the final moments of the Unions 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy on April 2, goaltender Faryd Mondragon was declared a tentative game-time decision against Dallas on Saturday. The veteran keeper managed to play the full 90 minutes, but had defender Carlos Valdes take all of his goalie kicks as a precaution.

According to Nowak, Mondragon continues his recovery and is a near definite between the pipes against the Fire on Saturday night.

Hes been training with us the whole time so there is nothing to report, said Nowak. Hes good to go. He wants to train and he wants to be with us on the field. I dont expect anything coming into this weekend.

Mondragon is second in the MLS in wins with four and tops the list of starting keepers with a 0.67 goals against average.

E-mail Ryan Bright at ryanbright13@gmail.com