CHESTER, Pa. -- With back-to-back heartbreaking results nearly crushing the Union’s hope of redemption in 2014, the struggling club has two options when its hosts the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night at PPL Park.
“You can feel sorry for yourselves, or you can get up off the mat," interim manager Jim Curtain said. "It’s a real swing game. The season can go either way -- it’s that big of a game with New York.
"It’s about three points. It’s very important that we come out and get three points at home -- especially at home.”
The Union manager was blunt in his weekly press conference and refused the typical cliches. While the weak Eastern Conference has kept every team involved in the postseason race, the Union are sputtering at 4-8-7 and unable to gain any traction.
After the Red Bulls (5-5-8) on Wednesday, the Union face the Chicago Fire (3-4-10) on the road on Saturday. Six points would put the Union in a tentative playoff position.
“Everyone says don’t look at the table and focus one game at a time and all the cliches,” Curtin said. “We’re going to have to do something this club hasn’t done this year, which is win multiple games, three games in a row. If you look at the schedule, I see nine games at home and six on the road. At some point we need to go on a run that’s a real run. It has to be a real upward movement because we dug a big hole and we have to get out of it.”
But the Union shouldn’t rely on PPL Park as a source of power for this run. The club is 1-2-5 at home this season, with its only win coming against the New England Revolution back on March 15.
Curtin says enough is enough.
“We’re overdue for a victory at home,” he said. “The guys know that and they feel the pressure. It’s time to get a win.”
In a crushing 3-3 draw with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, the Union blew a two-goal lead and lost defensive midfielders Amobi Okugo and Michael Lahoud to red-card ejections. Without Okugo for Wednesday's match, Maurice Edu and Brian Carroll will likely feature in significant defensive roles.
Meanwhile, centerback Austin Berry, recovering from an illness, and midfielder Vincent Nogueira, back from a groin injury, could also draw into the starting 11.
“We have players that can step in whenever,” defender Ethan White said. “We have to get our legs back because it’s a quick turnaround. We have to put our focus on New York.”
On the flip side, the Red Bulls -- led by Thierry Henry’s goal and three assists -- recently crushed the Columbus Crew, 4-1. It was just the club’s third win in its last nine games. But White isn’t afraid of the Red Bulls’ sudden revival.
“It’s MLS, just because a team scores four goals in one game doesn’t mean they will score four again,” he said. “Obviously we’re going to look at video and see how they played, but we have to focus on us first.”
Though the Red Bulls haven’t been able to string together many wins this season, they feature dangerous striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, who has 15 goals on the year and six goals in his last six games. They also have Henry, who is a consistent nightmare for opposing defenses.
“I don’t need a scouting report to tell me that Thierry Henry is good at soccer,” Curtin said. “It’s something all our guys know, he’s a top player in the league, he’s a handful. We’ll have to focus on him. As he goes, New York goes.”