Although the Union have pretty much had a clear-cut No. 1 goalkeeper heading into each of their respective seasons, this year has to be viewed as different – regardless of what the average fans feels about the Union’s goalkeeper position.
Whatever jokes are out there to be made, spare them from Andre Blake. The 2014 No. 1 overall pick hasn’t exactly had the benefit of timing – to say the least – since he joined the Union, but he’s finally poised to take over the job. And that’s even with the backing of head coach Jim Curtin.
“To have the peace of mind, to know he’s going to be the guy, that has made him more comfortable,” Curtin said. “He’s confident. He’s made some big saves in training. He’s capable of making the save that wins the game.”
Unsurprisingly, Blake spent the beginning of his rookie season behind holdover Zac MacMath. Of course, that was until the Union signed Algerian goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi in July 2014, pushing the still-untested rookie into an afterthought as the Union’s goalkeeping corps became overcrowded. But even with MacMath sent out on loan heading into 2015, Blake was clearly second-fiddle to Mbolhi and because of a torn ligament during that preseason, Blake was busy rehabbing once Curtin elected to bench Mbolhi one month into the season.
But even once Blake returned, another torn knee ligament left him out of the picture for two additional months. By the time he returned for a second time, barely two months were left in the season.
Now it’s this job and his job alone.
“It is, but that can also be a little bit of a distraction,” Blake said about the ease of being the clear-cut top choice. “I’m just trying to block it out and come in everyday and work as hard as possible to try to get me and my teammates better.”
And it was probably an easy decision for Curtin to make in the end – once Blake was back to full health at least. The 25-year-old Jamaican international assumed the starters’ role for the Reggae Boyz and will continue to do so as Jamaica tries to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
“It’s always great getting games for your country,” Blake said. “It was good to see a few more games after the season, too, because that gave me more experience.”
As for league play, Blake put on the type of performance that won’t soon be forgotten – you didn’t, did you? – against New England, where he broke the franchise record for saves in a game. After that, he started the final four matches of the year (including the Open Cup final) and also kept a clean sheet in the finale against Orlando.
“It gave me the votes of confidence to make me believe more that I can play in this league and can help my team to be successful,” Blake said.
This is the ninth installment of the 2016 Philadelphia Union season preview. We'll wrap up our preview with a look at the goalkeepers on Thursday. Click on "Season Preview" below for a full recap. In the meantime, what's on your mind for Andre Blake's season?
