Maybe the Union aren’t dead yet.
Knowing a loss would just about end their already-slim playoff hopes, the Union picked up an unlikely road victory against a team they are chasing in the Eastern Conference standings.
And while it will still be a very steep climb to the postseason, Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact at least gives Philly a fighting chance heading into the final eight league games of the regular season.
Here’s a look at how the Union pulled off the franchise’s first-ever win at Montreal and what challenges loom ahead as they look to find a late-season winning streak.
Three thoughts about Saturday’s game
1. About a month ago, Sebastien Le Toux was struggling. He wasn’t scoring, his passes were erratic and he wasn’t making good enough runs to the box from a wide position. But over the past month, the Frenchman has reminded us why he’s the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, netting goals in five of the last six games, including the only one in Saturday’s win. Le Toux may have his flaws but it’s important to remember sometimes that he still can run for days and get into great spots to score -- and that few, if any, players care as much about this club as he does.
2. Union head coach Jim Curtin likes to see how young players respond when they’re thrown into the fire. Perhaps it was with that in mind, then, that he finally decided to give second-year goalie Andre Blake his first start of the season -- in a sold-out stadium buzzing for the MLS debut of world-renowned superstar Didier Drogba. And Curtin was thrilled that Blake responded with a lot of poise in a tough environment to earn the shutout and spoil Drogba’s debut. To be fair, Blake didn’t have to do much in making four relatively easy saves. But for someone that’s battled through two knee surgeries this year, it was certainly nice for the former top overall pick to enjoy a special night and make a strong claim on the team’s No. 1 goalkeeping spot (more on that later).
3. The reason why Blake had a relatively easy night was because of an organized performance from the Union defense. For the second straight road game, a backline without injured captain Maurice Edu managed to completely limit a team with a big-name star from generating much of any offense en route to a clean sheet. Of course, in between those two games, Philly allowed three goals, including one in stoppage time, to the worst team in the league. In many ways, these last three games are a microcosm of the season: The team has potential to play the way Curtin likes and grind its way to 1-0 wins … or the wheels can completely come off. Unfortunately for the Union, the latter has happened more often than the former this year.
Philadelphia Union
Three questions for the week ahead
1. While the Union’s strong defensive performance was a good sign, they still need Edu to come back to have any real shot of making a late-season playoff push. But the center back is dealing with a pretty significant injury (a partially torn left groin) that he wants to be careful with heading into Saturday’s home game against the New England Revolution (7 p.m., The Comcast Network). And considering the team remains a long shot for the playoffs, Edu and Curtin will also consider how much they want to play him before the U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 30 -- the team’s biggest game of the year.
2. Along with Edu, Vincent Nogueira has been arguably the team’s best player this season. So it was a nice boost for the Union that the Frechman played the final 22 minutes of Saturday’s game in Montreal after missing the previous three league contests with a pulled right quad. Now, heading into the New England game, the question will be if Curtin wants to insert him back into the starting lineup. It might seem like a no-brainer but the conservative defensive midfield partnership of Brian Carroll and Michael Lahoud has been effective in limiting other team’s chances (if not winning the possession battle) and the Union coach might not want to mess with that right now.
3. Immediately after the game, Curtin confirmed that Blake would remain his starting goalkeeper next week, so there shouldn’t be any questions there heading into Saturday’s game. But with Rais Mbolhi saga finally coming to its end and Brian Sylvestre and John McCarthy battling through injuries and inconsistency, it will be interesting to see if Blake can keep a firm grip on that spot until the end of the season (at least when he’s not getting called up to the Jamaican national team). He certainly has a lot of talent and athletic ability, but two knee surgeries in one year is not something to be taken lightly of course.
Stat of the week
Blake is the fourth goalkeeper to play a league game for the Union this season -- the most ever for the club.
Quote of the week
“At this point, if you’re a professional soccer player and you don’t know what Drogba’s about, you should probably get a new job, maybe at Subway,” -- Union midfielder Lahoud
Player of the week
Le Toux deserves the nod for here for not only scoring the game’s only goal but also setting the play up with a pass out wide to C.J. Sapong and then getting into a good position to deflect home a pass from Ayuk. Of his five goals in the past six games, two have been game-winners, one was a game-tying goal and another was a go-ahead goal.