Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin is willing to accept youthful mistakes as he focuses on chances created and the bravery of his squad in a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles FC on Saturday.
LAFC took their chances
Adama Diomande was a scoring machine for Bob Bradley’s Staebek squad in Norway and he has continued that form since moving stateside from Hull City. “We just ran into a team that took their chances today,” Jim Curtin said after the match. “I think at one point it was four shots on goal and three goals.
“We didn’t a decent job in the first half limiting them,” he continued. “We pressed well, our reactions were good, but on the day we just weren’t sharp enough and they punished us.”
Diomande put in three and Latif Blessing finished things off with a late finish. Meanwhile, the Union failed to put a shot on frame in the second half after building momentum with a goal at the end of the first forty-five.
The variability of youth
Auston Trusty and Mark McKenzie still have big potential, but their errors led to two LAFC goals on Saturday. “We had some youthful mistakes today,” Curtin acknowledged. “But that’s something that we’ve signed up for and we’re on board with because we still see a lot of progress with our young center backs.
“Were there some critical errors tonight?” Curtin asked rhetorically. “Absolutely. And a team like LA punishes you.”
Trusty was at fault for the first goal and McKenzie’s loose touch led to the second. But it’s worth noting both players were patient under pressure and continue to flash the athleticism in recovery that allows Philly to play a high line this season and compress the pitch better than they have in the past.
Keeping that confidence
“We know we can play with any team in this league,” Union captain Ale Bedoya said without hesitation after the match. “We can play good football. But in the final third, we just gotta be better. I don’t know how many chances they had in the first half, but it looks like they scored two out of two. We gave them the first goal, and we had some chances we weren’t able to score. And that’s the difference.”
“I think all year we’ve shown that we can create chances, that we can play between the lines, that we can play with any team. But the difference is the quality in the final third and being able to score and capitalize off our chances.”
This is not the first time Philly’s missed chances have played a big role in a bad result, and in the past they have been able to put tough losses behind them and rebound well. They face a difficult task next weekend against the team at the top of the Eastern Conference, so maintaining confidence in their playing style will be key to winning a second straight match at home.
