For the second time in three weeks, the Union have lost to the New York Red Bulls. Unlike last game which saw 5 goals between the two teams, this time around saw only 2 goals for just one team. The good news is, Union clinched their first playoff spot in 5 years!
Jim Curtin made some changes to the starting lineup. Fabian Herbers moved up to the striker position, Eric Ayuk got his first start of the season on the left wing, while Ilsinho started on the right and Ronald Alberg came in to play the number 10 position. Red Bulls came out in the first half the better team. Bradley Wright-Phillips gave the Red Bulls the lead in the 26th minute with his 24th goal of the season.
The second half, started off with Ronald Alberg hitting the post. The Union good beginning to the half quickly ended when Alex Muyl doubled New York’s lead in the 57th minute. Tranquillo Barnetta and CJ Sapong both came on in the second half but both struggled to put pressure on New York’s goal. Ayuk had a good shot late in the half that was heading for the upper left corner of the goal but Luis Robles was able to push it over the bar.
The Union will begin their 2016 playoff journey on Wednesday when they travel to Toronto for a one game series. While this is the first time the Union have been to the playoffs since 2011, they have struggled to score goals and win games in recent weeks. The team sits on a 7 game winless streak and have been shutout at home for the past two weeks. However, this is the playoffs so nothing from the season really matters now. It’s a new beginning and hopefully the Union will start this new journey as they did the first half of the 2016 season, in good form.
