At 1-1-1 (four points) to start the season it's been a mixed bag for thePhiladelphia Union, though the positives, to me, have faroutweighed the negatives – starting with three new midfielders.
We knew the midfield was changing and while I still knowthat the best is yet to come, when has the team had a midfield quartet like this?
Cristian Maidana has shown signs ofbrilliance offensively, and once he gets used to his teammates and the way the game is refereed in MLS, he can only getbetter.
Vincent Nogueira is the farthest along of the trio, butthat's because he had been playing on a regular basis withSochaux in the French top division. Nogueira seems to havean engine that just won't quit, along with vision and soccersense. He knows where the next ball should go and does hisbest to get it there.
While he may not know the language, Nogueirais very animated on the field, pointing to where he wants thenext runner to go, or to where he wants to receive the ball.He has been impressive in his three starts playing the full 90. As for Maurice Edu, as a box-to-box midfielder he is providingsome aggressiveness on both sides of the ball, giving balanceand support to Brian Carroll.
Edu has also played every minutemaking up for some lost time at Stoke. Edu's play has at leastled in part to a recall to the U.S. National Team by JurgenKlinsmann for the April 2friendly against Mexico.
All of this goes into the plus side along with the play ofRaymon Gaddis, Leo Fernandes and Aaron Wheeler.
Gaddis, thought to be a sub as both right and left back, hasplayed three full 90's in place of the injured Sheanon Williams.Fernandes had an assist in his first game as a last minutestarter for an ill Brian Carroll, then scored a goal last weekas a sub at Columbus. Forget the stats, he looks more poisedthan he did just one year ago. As for Wheeler, a new conversionto central defender, he has impressed in a lot of areas, bothas a sub and as a starter for the injured Austin Berry. With theway these defenders have played, you don't have to risk apremature return of Williams or Berry.
On the downside, the club has only scored three goals in threegames, exactly one each game. Yes, they are creating and arecertainly more entertaining than in year’s past, but coacheswill tell you, it's all about the finishing. That's one area thatthe club will look to improve on.
New players becoming more familiar with their teammates will help, as will thereturn of a healthy Conor Casey, although right now, thequestion is how to get him into the lineup, especially if theUnion stick with a 4-3-3. I do believe we will see Caseyget some playing time soon.
Also on the down side, the three goals given up are not many,especially when you have played two road games versustwo good teams.
However, two goals have come off ofcorner kicks, and two of the three have come in stoppagetime at the end of a game and end of a half. Coaches gogray or bald, over goals conceded in this fashion.
That's the good and the bad of this three-game stretch to open the season. A desperate Montreal team comes to PPL Park onSaturday looking for their first point after a 0-3-0 start. Last year, they started out by winning their first four games.
On Saturday, Montreal is scheduled to get star striker Marco DiVaio back froma three-game suspension to start the season.
The Italian forward had 20 goals a year ago, and has scored four goals in four gamesplayed against the Union. He is sure to test the Union back lineas he makes his 2014 season debut.
Read past Play-by-Play Plus columns and watch JP Dellacamera and color analyst Peter Pappas all season long on local Union broadcasts.
