Philadelphia Union’s commanding 1-0 win (yes, I know that sounds strange) puts them into the semifinals of the 2018 US Open Cup for the third time in five years and the first time since they fell in heartbreaking fashion to Sporting Kansas City in the 2015 final at home. Jim Curtin was the coach for that run, and he seems determined to get his team back to another final. The Union head man thought his youngest and his most experienced players were all excellent Wednesday evening.
Beast mode
Asked about Mark McKenzie’s performance, Curtin said simply: “He was a beast.”
McKenzie took Dom Dwyer’s best punches and never backed down. But for all his defensive strength, the Union are happiest with what their young center back does going forward. “What gets Earnie [Stewart] and me excited is how good he is with the ball,” Curtin said. “He plays through the lines, plays passes that eliminate 5-6 defenders at a time, I think he had one mistake with the ball, so we'll still pick on him and be hard on him because we want him to get better but really happy with his growth.
“He did have a tough game or two, as any young center back's going to have,” Curtin admitted. “When you run into — whether it's a Giovinco or a Josef Martinez week after week — there's going to be a tough moment for you. But he's responded very well and that's the sign of a good defender. You have to have short-term memory in this league as a defender because the attackers are so talented, you're eventually going to get beat.”
Flyin’ Fafa
Fafa Picault didn’t get a goal on the night, but his ability to push back Orlando’s defense was crucial for the Union’s dominance. “What he does to a defense, the way he affects them, his workrate, he winds up almost running, he must have covered the most ground tonight,” Curtin said in praise of the winger.
“Obviously he wants, everybody on the team wants him to be rewarded with a goal, he probably deserved a goal tonight,” the coach continued. “But you can't fault his workrate, how selfless he was for the team, whatever we needed.”
Crowd helps the team
Few teams pack out stadiums for the US Open Cup, but when the Union play at Talen Energy Stadium, those that come always make it a rowdy, exciting, and unique atmosphere. “I think the die-hard intelligent fans know the importance of the Open Cup,” Curtin acknowledged. “I thought our fans were great tonight.”
The Union will now hope that they draw another home match for the US Open Cup semifinal in early August. “You want the fan base to get completely behind the group and watch these Open Cup games,” Curtin said. “The die-hard Sons of Ben were excellent tonight, were loud for us.”
