CHESTER, Pa. -- Ken Tribbett had a bad night.
The rookie defender was tabbed for three first-half goals against, causing Union manager Jim Curtin to pull him at halftime for Josh Yaro, in the club’s eventual 3-1 loss to Toronto FC at Talen Energy Stadium (see game story).
“It’s hard, it’s a hard decision,” Curtin said. “Obviously, three goals is unacceptable at home. It’s not all on Ken, we’re a team and we’re together, but at the same time, I think he had a tough half.”
In his club suit, sitting alone in his locker room stall, Tribbett didn’t run from the situation.
“He didn’t say too much, but to just keep my head up,” he said, of Curtin’s halftime response. “[Toronto FC players] are fast, they’re strong and had good finishes. The situation called for a quicker type player in Yaro.”
Although Tribbett has been mistake-prone since taking over the starter spot from Yaro in late March, Curtin has stuck with his player throughout almost any matchup. But on Saturday, the manager hit a breaking point, leaving the quicker Yaro, another rookie, in charge of marking Toronto FC’s speedy forward Sebastian Giovinco, who scored his club’s first goal of the match.
“With the speed of Josh, I thought maybe that was a better matchup dealing with Giovinco,” Curtin said. “It’s a hard decision but it’s a young back line that’s still learning every day, getting better every day.”
If Yaro was the better match for Giovinco’s speed, then why wouldn’t Curtin have gone with that lineup for Saturday? The manager's thought process began with the 4-0 shutout win over the New England Revolution last weekend.
“It’s tough to change my thinking after a 4-0 performance,” Curtin said. “It’s tough to change the lineup. It would be over-tinkering, I think. Tonight it didn’t work out. At the same time, we learn from it. We will watch the tape, there’s things we can do better.”
But while the result was poor for Tribbett, the ask was astronomical. Tribbett couldn’t contain Giovinco on Toronto FC’s first goal, lost his mark on the club’s second goal and was unable to dispossess Jozy Altidore on the third goal. Not many people can stop Giovinco and Altidore, which is why Curtin is building up, not beating down his fresh-faced defender.
“As hard as the night was for Ken, you still learn from it,” he said. “You have to. He’ll be fine. You learn in these big games against top forwards.”
But in the end, Tribbett’s night wasn’t all gloom. Getting on the end of a Tranquillo Barnetta free kick, the 23-year-old buried his second goal of the season off a strong header. That, not the benching, is what he’ll remember most.
“It felt good, the ball was whipped in with pace so I was able to whip it in as well,” he said. “It was a special one, special for me, the first one at home.”