With the possibility of securing a postseason berth tomorrow night, Head Coach Jim Curtin held his weekly press conference to talk about the impressive run of form his squad has had over the past few weeks as well as the club’s push for more than just a spot in the playoffs. These are our Founders Brewing Co. Pressing Points.
Full Focus
After a 6-0 road thumping of D.C. United, the Union doubled down and got the same result last weekend against the Colorado Rapids to become the first club in league history to have four wins by over six goals. Wednesday night the Boys in Blue look to add another piece to their 2022 story as three points will secure their fifth-consecutive appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Curtin said on Tuesday afternoon that the club met the challenge on Saturday night and must be up for it again on the short turnaround.
“We were in a tricky situation where we were coming off big win, playing a Western Conference team but the players’ mentality like it's been all season is very strong,” Curtin said. “We got our goal and from there the flood gates opened. Really happy with the performance, a professional one but I’m also happy with the goals we are scoring and happy about the clean sheet. The challenge now is to play an Atlanta team that is coming off a big win on Sunday.”
With the big margin, Curtin said that the team was able to save some energy as they continue another three-game in eight day gauntlet. Atlanta United faces a similar debacle and actually has less rest, having played on Sunday against D.C. United.
“We caught the benefit of playing up an man and with a pretty good scoreline so we didn’t have to put a ton physically into the last game in terms of the output from the data we got back from that so the guys are recovered, fresh and ready to go but we expect an opponent in Atlanta that can hurt you in a lot of ways with a lot of talent on their team. They are fighting to get above that red line which is really tough to do but back at home midweek, we have to have a top performance to get points.”
A powerhouse when they entered the league, the Five Stripes come to Subaru Park fighting to get above the red line with the side trailing Columbus Crew by three points. They’ll come to Chester riding high after a 3-2 win against D.C. led by Josef Martinez who came on as a second-half substitute and scored two minutes later the equalizer.
Milestone for Andre Blake
Wednesday night should see the another club milestone as goalkeeper Andre Blake is set to make his 200th MLS regular season start for the Boys in Blue. The only goalkeeper taken with the No. 1 selection in the MLS SuperDraft, Blake has been a key part of the Union’s story. During his nine seasons with the Union, Blake has amassed three MLS All-Star Appearances, two MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Awards and literally owns the entire record book of the Union.
“To see him go through some adversity early on in his career with injuries and not getting the opportunity to be a starter right away. He put his head down, keep quiet and work hard to now see his rise to be the best goalkeeper that our league has, has been awesome to watch,” Curtin said on Blake. “ I’ve loved watching his leadership in the locker room where when he speaks, everyone listens. He is a big part of the culture change at this club and us getting to our winning ways. Andre Blake will be up there next to Seba in the stadium alongside Ale Bedoya but I cannot say enough about Andre. To watch him grow and improve little aspects of his game every year. If you watch him now with his feet, he adds a layer to his game and he is never satisfied.”
Putting on the Pressure
While the Union lead CF Montreal by five points, they sit just three points out from the Supporters’ Shield. While it seems unlikely the Union might catch the California side because of their game in hand, the recent run of form has opened the door for the Union to reclaim the shield.
“We have three games at home and three games away so that is 18 points that is out there and we are going to go for every point,” Curtin said. “LAFC is a great team but if they slip up, we want to be there to put pressure on them. That is the message to the team which is to get as many points as we can.”
The Union head coach did mention that a lot could happen before things really heat up for the league’s ultimate prize but his squad has lofty goals for 2022.
“We want to win the East and make [Concacaf] Champions League, “ Curtin said. “If it comes down to the Supporters’ Shield on the last day, that wouldn’t be the worse thing either. This group is ready to go to make a strong run and we’ll see what happens.”
