Union Gear Up for Difficult Road Trip
The Union will look to get back into the win column this Sunday when they travel to Red Bull Arena to take on their rival, the New York Red Bulls. Philadelphia currently sits in second place in the Eastern Conference with 52 as they trail first-place New York City FC, by five points.
Atlanta United is right on the Union’s tail with 51 points on the season and inching upon them with a vengeance.
With that being said, the Union will need to play their best style of soccer during a brutal three-game road trip which includes three games in eight days. The Boys in Blue will play the Red Bulls this Sunday, travel to San Jose to take on the Earthquakes on Wednesday, September 25th at 11 p.m. EST kickoff, and finally end their trip with a matchup against the Columbus Crew on Sunday, September 29th at 5 p.m. EST kickoff.
This is not an easy task, to say the least, as both New York and San Jose sit in sixth place in their respective conferences, with 44 points on the year. Columbus should not be taken lightly either, due to the fact that they are one of the worst teams in the East and have something to prove with a chip on their shoulder. However, out of all three games during this stretch, that matchup is the most winnable for the Union given the circumstances.
This is arguably the most important three games of the entire 2019 season for Philadelphia, so they must be on their A-game and be ready or willing to compete for a top spot in the East. This upcoming stretch could define the team’s season and possibly be the difference of making the top three in the conference or falling short and ending the regular season in fourth place. Coach Jim Curtin should be looking for his squad to notch at least seven of a possible nine points in the next three games in order to solidly their spot in the top three.
A major topic of debate heading into the team’s road trip was not being able to take a chartered flight back home in between the Earthquakes and Crew games.
Union captain Alejandro Bedoya took his anger to Twitter in response to an earlier tweet by stating, “We play 3 straight away games next week. Have to fly to San Jose for a midweek game. I’m pretty sure you can still demand charter flights for these types of trips/games while also trying to eliminate 3 letter acronyms & increasing the salary cap.”
According to sources, Ernst Tanner does not want the Union to charter home from San Jose in order to get a good recovery without traveling during the night.
While that may seem like a logical reason, this scenario is certainly unacceptable and needs to be discussed more openly moving forward, as it could possibly cost the team a top spot in the East. With the Union having zero chartered flights all season long, this situation will have to be addressed in the off-season, taking into account the player’s desires and an opportunity to rest.
Needless to say, the Philadelphia Union have a tough task on their hands this upcoming week, but here’s hoping the coaching staff and players will be up to the challenge and be able to take on the big responsibility of earning a few victories.
That all starts this Sunday versus the team’s most despised rival at 6:30 p.m. EST kickoff.
Featured Image: Derik Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports
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