The Union are back on the road this weekend, this time to take on LA Galaxy on Saturday, July 8th at 10:30 pm ET. Before getting on the plane, Head Coach Jim Curtin met with the media, previewing the upcoming match.
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Playing like ‘us’
The Union are heading across the country coming off a disappointing loss against Atlanta United FC. The team fell 2-0 on Sunday, and they’ll face an energized Galaxy squad that recently defeated cross-town rival LAFC in this year’s heated El Trafico matchup on July 4th.
Curtin shared what his conversation with his team was like on Thursday morning before they departed for the West Coast.
“Just to reflect back on Atlanta, a performance that wasn't us. We talked a lot in film today just about when we're at our best, all 10 field players are attacking, all 10 field players are defending. We were a little disjointed in Atlanta. For whatever reason, they played with a little more urgency, intensity, whatever word you'd like to us, and we got beat,” Curtin said.
“That's a good reminder that if you're not on top of your game on the road, you can get punished and we look forward now to having a better team performance against the the LA Galaxy, a team that just had a very hard fought emotional win against La FC, a team that is playing good soccer. Greg Vanney, he's a great coach and has them on a good run of form.”
Saturday will mark the first time in a long time that the two teams have met. The pair's last matchup was four years ago in 2019, and each have diverted in success since then. Galaxy sits at the bottom of the Western Conference at 13th, while the Union rest near the top at fifth in the East. Despite the disparity in rankings, any game on the road poses a challenge, and Curtin’s hope is for cohesion within his squad to notch the win.
“Just encouraging our guys to let’s have this performance look like us. Do the simple things perfect and not try to play outside of ourselves and do it all together. All 11 guys on the same page,” Curtin said.
Goodbye for now, Brandan Craig
On Wednesday, the Union announced that homegrown defender Brandan Craig would be loaned to Austin FC for the remainder of the 2023 season. In return, the Union are set to acquire Austin’s natural third round pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft and up to $125,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money (GAM) if certain performance-based incentives are met.
Curtin spoke about the recent deal on Thursday, explaining the importance of Craig earning MLS minutes.
“Brandon Craig's a great young player that we have produced from our academy. We feel as a club that we need to find creative ways to get him minutes. We happen to have, I think, three of the best center backs in the league and that's no slight on Brandon. He needs to experience MLS minutes,” Curtin said.
Craig will join a team coached by Josh Wolff, with whom Curtin holds a great amount of respect for. The pair played alongside each other at Chicago Fire FC in Curtin’s rookie MLS season in 2001 and 2002.
“It's a good fit, I think it will be great for Brandon in his development, he'll still have to go there and earn his minutes, of course. But just kind of the logjam at center back with knock on wood the way that our guys tend to stay healthy as well and perform well. I think it's a great opportunity for him to grow. He's still a player that we believe in very much here.”
July's Challenges
To some, May might have appeared to be the most difficult month of the Union’s schedule, with three games packed into one week at its close. But ahead of the season, Curtin eyed this current stretch as one that could be the Union’s greatest challenge, and he’s determined to persevere through it, though his best 11 players aren’t available.
“May on paper was the busiest, toughest month. But this one, in terms of games, and who we knew would most likely be at the Gold Cup, was the one that as the coach I saw as the hardest. It's never easy to go to Atlanta, it's difficult. It's always hard to go to LA even though we haven't done it in a while, but you can see they're in good form now as well. And then to turn around and go against Nashville, which is a tough trip and a team that's very hard to break down,” Curtin said.
“This is a tough stretch. You know, we always want to take as many points as possible. But when you go on the road, if you can take any points. It's a real bonus in this league. So it'll be hard. But our group has been able to play three games in a week and have success.”
The Union are currently without starting defender Damion Lowe and goalkeeper Andre Blake, who are still away with the Jamaican National Team competing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Left back Kai Wagner also missed the game against Atlanta due to a hamstring injury. The roster isn’t at full force, but Curtin is confident in the depth of his team and their abilities.
“The tough thing is, like many teams, we haven't had everyone here at their best and fully healthy or not with the national team or injury or suspension or what it might be to get that best 11 on the field. But you have some ideas in your brain of what that could look like and look, sometimes you never get the opportunity to have them all on the field at the same time and you have to adapt and adjust accordingly.”
