Riding a two-match win streak, Head Coach Jim Curtin spoke about how the team will use their momentum gained from their weekend win over Atlanta United FC as the club makes a final push for the regular season. Here are our Founders Brewing Co. Pressing Points.
Rivalry Renews
Wednesday night will see the Boys in Blue head north for the latest chapter of its rivalry with New York Red Bulls on PHL17 and PhiladelphiaUnion.com. Coming off the 1-0 win against ATL, Curtin said the squad must carry this confidence and get into a groove as they look to shoot up the standings.
“That performance means nothing if we don’t follow up with another one against Red Bull,” Curtin said.
The rivalry has seen a giant swing in the Union’s favor with the side unbeaten against their rival since September 2019. Despite the steak, Curtin explained that each match between the two sides are always close.
“These games are usually one play games. We bring out the best in each other. All games are important at this point and every point matters, but when its Red Bull, there’s a little something extra for both teams.”
Making the Most of Available Players
While the focus is on the remaining two contests this week, Curtin stressed that the club has to get as many points as possible as the FIFA window will impact the club just like September. Curtin discussed how this influences game strategy for the next two matches before these players depart.
“As a coach you have to look a couple days ahead and have a plan,” Curtin said. “It’s not ideal, we’ll be missing about eight players in the most important games of the year.”
According to Curtin, Wednesday evening will see the return of captain Alejandro Bedoya who missed the match on Saturday due to a calf injury. However Curtin said that forward Cory Burke’s injury has been downgraded and will be out for the foreseeable future.
