With another convincing win this past weekend at home, the Philadelphia Union have taken a commanding lead atop the Eastern Conference table. With nine games left in the 2022 season, Jim Curtin and his staff look to keep the team rolling to finish strong and clinch home field advantage for the playoffs. The team heads to the Lone Star State on Wednesday for a midweek matchup against a very hot FC Dallas team, led by US stars Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira. These are our Founders Brewing Co. Pressing Points.
Battle on the Front Lines
This week’s matchup features two of the most dangerous front three groups in the league. With the hard hitting trio of Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre, and Julian Carranza, and the Dallas trio that includes US phenom Jesus Ferreira, this game is going to put both defenses to the test. The Dallas front three is responsible for 27 goals on the season, while the Union’s front three have scored 29 goals. Curtin talked earlier about how dangerous the Dallas attackers can be and what they have to do to defend against them.
“When you talk about FC Dallas and that front three, Ferreria, Velasco, and Arriola, when they get going, they are really dynamic players and they are all comfortable on the ball,” Curtin said during his weekly press conference. “They can hurt you a lot of different ways, but that is certainly something that will be on our radar, that front three and how well they interchange, they move, and they can get goals in lots of different ways.
Forward Jesus Ferreira is currently tied for third for goals scored this season with 14, with Daniel Gazdag not too far behind with 12 himself this year. Coach Curtin had high praise for the young striker ahead of the match
“[Ferreira] has just a really high soccer IQ, and when he’s on, he’s almost unguardable, so we’ll have to do our best to limit his touches, but then again, special players are the hardest to shut down, and you just have to limit where he touches the ball on the field as best you can.”
Short Week Challenges
With three games in the span of eight days, Coach Curtin and his technical staff are tested with rotating the squad to keep them fresh. With the tough schedule, Curtin has to carefully pick and choose his starting eleven to ensure his players stay healthy as playoffs approach, while still getting a desired result.
“We don’t want to stop any forward momentum, we want to have a proactive performance, and a positive one,” Coach Curtin said about the upcoming matchup. “Each guy’s not going to be able to play 90 minutes in the next two games, but we’ll put out a really strong team out on the field against Dallas to chase all three points. We’ll regroup after that and then assess what’s best for DC United.
The heavy schedule can take a toll on the team but Curtin has done well in the past with midweek games.
“It’s a challenge, but at the same time it’s the way it is. We’ve been a pretty good team on Wednesday nights throughout the last several years, and again, our full focus is on getting that result against Dallas, but you will obviously see some changes and some different things for the next two games.”
Finishing Strong
The 2022 MLS regular season is winding down Curtin has his team right where he wants them. Being atop the Eastern Conference standings, Coach Curtin talked about how important it is to keep his team’s momentum into the playoffs.
“We’re in a great position in the league, the challenge now is to guard against let downs. When you’re at the top, everyone’s kind of gunning for you, and the motivation, you have to create yourself to stay there, so it’s not easy,” Curtin said
With being undefeated at home, Coach is really stressing to his team how important it is to finish the season strong. Clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs to the MLS Cup Final would really propel this team because of how well they have played in Chester this season
“The season can change quickly, we have our hands full, but we’re in a good spot. We worked hard to get here and the challenge is to not give up that spot, and finish as close to first in the East as possible, because we know how important home field, and playing in Subaru Park is.”
The Boys in Blue battle FC Dallas on Wednesday night with coverage starting at 8:30PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia and PhiladelphiaUnion.com.
