Coming into Orlando Saturday night, the Union defense had struggled in back-to-back appearances, allowing three goals each to New York Red Bulls and D.C. United. And without two of their top players in the lineup – Maurice Edu and Vincent Nogueira – against the hottest offensive team in the league, Jim Curtin knew he needed a quality effort from his side.
“I talked to the guys before the game started about having a professional approach to the game,” Curtin said. “Everyone needed to have a good game – nobody has to feel the need to be great, but if everyone has a good game, that’s usually when we get points. And I thought everyone did.”
And that was with two new faces in the back four and another centrally. Steven Vitoria and Michael Lahoud each made their first appearances in more than three months. For Lahoud, it was the first time he was back in the lineup since May 2, and the midfielder did an excellent job covering Kaka in the middle of the field.
For Vitoria, it was his first action since April 25, but the Canadian defender had been featured on the team’s bench the last few weeks. Still, his first game back was vital, providing six clearances on the day and helping the team pick up its first clean sheet since July 11 against Portland.
“The clean sheet is good – everybody gets credit for that,” Curtin said before rattling off the importance of every player on the field, from up top with C.J. Sapong all the way to back line. “Steven stepped in after being out for a while and did a good job. A zero on the road is a positive – it’s something to build on.”
While the Union allowed just one shot on target and looked destined to keep the clean sheet all night, they finally started to pile on the pressure over the last quarter of an hour. Cristian Maidana stepped up to a free kick, or a corner, seemingly over and over during the last 15 minutes, but the Union were unable to put one behind Tally Hall.
Perhaps the best look at goal came in the 87th minute when Richie Marquez, who was also returned to the lineup from injury for the first time since July 18, got on the end of one of Maidana’s free kicks. Marquez rose above the Orlando defense and powerfully headed one net – only to be saved by Tally Hall, his best of four on the night.
“I just wanted to get good contact on it and I put it on frame,” Marquez said. “He was there at the right spot, it’s unfortunate, but I thought it was a goal at the first initial contact.”
Added Curtin about the final 15 minutes: “We’re unlucky to not get a goal there at the end of the game. We had a flurry there of four or five good chances, but you take the point and move on.”
Credit to the Union defense, though, especially in a tough situation without Edu and Nogueira. Curtin credited Lahoud and fellow veteran midfielder Brian Carroll for clogging up the middle of the field, where Kaka and Darwin Ceren typically like to operate.
“The biggest thing for me was making sure I did my job and shared the load with Brian,” Lahoud said.
“You have to be switched on – you have to know where he is at all times,” Lahoud said about Kaka. “That was part of my job, denying him access of the ball. If we did that well enough, I thought we’d have a good chance of getting a result.”
From here the Union will move on to play Chicago Fire twice at home next week. On Wednesday, they’ll take on the Fire for the semifinals of the 2015 U.S. Open Cup. On Saturday, they’ll return to MLS play – again with Chicago – in another key Eastern Conference battle.
“This builds some confidence because of the clean sheet and fixing the defensive side of things,” Curtin said. “We’ll have a few days rest and will have some time to look at the tape and improve. Hope to have Mo back and I know Vince is pushing as hard as he can to get back. It’s a good, positive result. I’m happy for the guys – they put a lot into it. Now Chicago is a do-or-die game. We have to have a survive-and-advance mentality. If both teams take care of business at home in the Open Cup, we’ll host the final.”
Contact Union press officer Chris Winkler at cwinkler@philadelphiaunion.com.
