Just when you thought the Union hit rock bottom, they grabbed a shovel and managed to dig even deeper.
On the brink of winning their first game of the season, the Union allowed two stoppage-time goals to drop a 3-2 heartbreaker to Sporting Kansas City on Sunday night and fall to a woeful 0-3-2 on the season.
In this week’s Inside Doop, we’ll take a closer look at some of the problems facing the winless Union and what, if anything, they can do to break out of their early-season funk:
Three thoughts about Sunday’s game
1. Coming into the season, Union head coach Jim Curtin talked excessively about instilling a new kind of mental toughness in his team so it wouldn’t continue to give away leads late in games, a big problem for much of the 2014 season (and, to be frank, most of the franchise’s existence). Yeah, so, about that. For the second time in five games, the Union gave away points on the road by allowing a late equalizer — and then followed that up by then giving up the game-winning goal right before the final whistle. If mental toughness is the disease, Curtin and company have yet to find a cure.
2. Another big problem for the Union once again reared its ugly head: defending set pieces. Remarkably, all three of Sporting Kansas City’s goals came off restarts, and while Philly’s marking in the box is certainly a cause for concern, goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi has yet to inspire much confidence in that area either. On SKC’s first goal, Mbolhi was caught way off his line, fell down, pretended to be hurt to draw a foul, and then screamed at the refs. The high-priced Algerian goalkeeper didn’t look especially mobile on SKC’s other two goals either, and predictably drew a lot of the postgame ire from Union fans, who were expecting him to command the box better than former goalie Zac MacMath. But that hasn’t been the case so far and, truthfully, Mbolhi is not only looking like one of the worst goalkeepers in the league but one of the worst signings in Union history.
3. With the Union once again missing a few important players, including playmaker Vincent Nogueira, Curtin trotted out an interesting lineup that included Michael Lahoud and Brian Carroll in the defensive midfield and Cameroonian teenager Eric Ayuk out on the wing. It was the first start of the season for Carroll and the first MLS start for Ayuk, and both rose to the occasion with solid shifts. It was Lahoud, though, that missed an open sitter that would have given the Union a 3-1 lead to perhaps seal the win. And the Union’s depth issues also showed when Fabinho — who was starting in place of the injured Sheanon Williams — had to come out with an injury and was replaced by rookie Raymond Lee, who was victimized on both stoppage-time goals in his MLS debut.
Three questions for the week ahead
1. The last two weeks could not have gone much worse for the Union, who were embarrassed on national TV with a very poor game against the previous winless Chicago Fire followed by a very poor final few minutes at Kansas City. Coming home for the first time since March 21 to face expansion side New York City FC on Saturday (4 p.m., 6ABC) will be a welcome relief for the Union. But until they win their first game of the season, you have to wonder about the mental state of the players and how they’ll react if they have a lead in the final few minutes.
2. Will the Union finally score their first goal at PPL Park this season? The team has been shut out in both of its home games — and through five games overall, only Fernando Aristeguieta has found the back of the net (with two own goals from opposing teams sprinkled in). It will certainly help now that C.J. Sapong is back after the striker suffered a concussion and facial fracture in the home opener. Zach Pfeffer will also return from a two-game suspension, and if Cristian Maidana, Vincent Nogueira or Conor Casey can return from injury, the Union should get a nice jolt to their offense.
3. Will Maurice Edu remain at center back? After playing four games in the midfield to start the season, the Union captain was moved to defense in place of Ethan White on Sunday. And aside from set-piece marking, Philly’s backline looked relatively organized in a difficult situation as the Union controlled only 30.5 percent of the possession and completed a very low 53 percent of their passes. Curtin has said in the past he prefers Edu at center back but Edu has made it clear he prefers the midfield. At this point, it might simply come down to whether Curtin thinks the Union are a better team with White starting at center back or with Lahoud or Carroll starting in the defensive midfield.
Quote of the week
“It’s just set pieces. We are too weak to win our battles. They wanted it more than us and they scored. It’s the same story in the last few games. We can’t keep a result when we are up. It’s just the same story for us.”
– Sebastien Le Toux
Stat of the week
Among starting goalkeepers, Mbolhi ranks last in MLS in save percentage (50 percent) and goals against (nine). His overall record as a Union starter is 1-4-4.
Player of the week
Le Toux shook off a rough start to the season by providing great service into the box. He got the assist on Aristeguieta’s goal and would have had another assist if it wasn’t credited as an own goal.