FC Cincinnati lead the USL Eastern Conference and recently learned they will be playing in Major League Soccer next season. Bethlehem Steel, meanwhile, were coming off a bruising weekend draw with Louisville City FC, who sit just behind Cincy in the standings.
In matches such as this, Steel head coach Brendan Burke leans on the consistent system his team shares with Philadelphia Union and the rest of the Union system. And he turns to the players with MLS experience to impose themselves on the game. Wednesday night, Burke's players stuck to the system even after going down a man, and Derrick Jones and Fabian Herbers scored to earn a massive road point.
With Jones, Herbers, Anthony Fontana, Matt Real, and John McCarthy in the starting eleven, the Union were well-represented against Cincinnati. Many of these players are part of the young core Jim Curtin and his coaching staff hope will develop into the next wave of Union stars, and Burke is entrusted with not only developing them technically but teaching them how to integrate into a team and grasp control of a match. With only sporadic first team minutes available, these players have to work hard in practice with the Union to catch the eye of the coaching staff, then they must show they understand the nuances of the organization's system by sliding into the Steel lineup.
The Union's focus on youth development means they need Steel to be both a competitive team in USL and also an incubator for future first team talent. Fans that tuned in to Wednesday night's USL match of the week got to see how strong teams like FC Cincinnati use well-built systems to dominate, but they also caught glimpses of what players like Jones, Fontana, and Real can become. Jones' physicality makes him a difficult matchup for any central midfielder in USL, and as the match became stretched late, he chased down Cincy's attackers in the open field with an ease that was, quite frankly, hard to process.
Jones' goal was also the result of hard work. After the excellent Santi Moar found him in the center at the top of Cincinnati's box, Jones hit a shot that was blocked into a crowd. Wading into the mess without hesitation, the young midfielder used his power to gain control of the ball and fired home with his second try. It was a goal that stunned the home side and rewarded John McCarthy's incredible first half goalkeeping display.
Fabian Herbers' movement in an isolated striker role demonstrated why he remains a useful piece of the Union puzzle even if he does not fit with the current emphasis on width and speed on the outside. The Creighton product's goal came when Steel were already a man down. He tucked into a channel in the back line, making Michee Ngalina's first assist an easy throughball that Herbers tucked home from a tight angle with the confidence that shows up so readily when he's in good form.
Another shout out must go to Matt Real, who was often presented with difficult defending situations once Steel went down a man. Real's isolation defending stood out, and he read his attackers well, keeping balanced and forcing play to slow down so his support could arrive.
Bethlehem will be in action again next Wednesday, June 20, at 5pm at Goodman Stadium against New York Red Bulls II. Jeremy Rafanello, who recently graduated from YSC Academy, made the bench for Steel against Cincinnati after scoring for the US U-19 team against Azerbaijan in the Slovakia Cup third place game, could feature.
