When his team reached the top of the table on Wednesday, Jim Curtin still said he was less than thrilled with how his team performed against FC Cincinnati. After a 6-1 win over New England kept them atop the east, the head coach was more positive.
“We have a good thing going right now,” he told the media.
“But in this league, you have to recognize you can lose it very fast. We have to keep the momentum going, not get complacent, and look to push things forward.”
Update on Aaronson
Curtin said that Brenden Aaronson, who left Saturday’s match with a hip flexor injury, did not appear to be on track for a long-term absence from the squad. “He just reached for a ball,” the head coach reported. “I just spoke with him as he walked out. He was optimistic that it wasn’t serious.”
Handling Halftime
Tied 1-1 going into the break, the head coach said he considered multiple ways of motivating his side before settling on a positive approach. “I thought about losing my mind and doing the old -- because I don’t go to it too often -- throw something, get a reaction and go negative on them. But I didn’t think that was right,” he said. “That’s a sign of a team with great veteran leaders because they knew that I didn’t have to come in and scream at them, they knew that they were poor in the first half and the response speaks for itself in the second half from them.”
Indeed, the Union came out and immediately got a goal from veteran magician Ilsinho after some gorgeous combination play with Jamiro Monteiro. The Union built on that momentum and took control of the match, jumping out to a big lead when Sergio Santos came in and knocked in a pair of goals.
“Yeah he should have had five goals honestly,” Curtin shrugged. “He's good at getting to the near post and he got some good successes from that, got some tap ins. His fitness you could tell we have to work on because again we have a group that all eleven have to be willing to play without the ball and defend as well. So he had a little fatigue in his legs for sure.”
On home form
“I did the math, and our last fifty at home were 32-11-7,” the head coach reported. “So that's a good home record. We have a good team in this home building and that's because of the Sons of Ben. They really push us on.
Curtin added that he has the motto of the SoBs sewn into his jacket, and that while he accepts criticism from fans at times, he will always stick up for his team.
Nobody needs to tell the world the Union are a good squad right now because their play speaks volumes. The first place Union travel to Toronto for a massive Eastern Conference showdown on Saturday, May 11 at 3 p.m. ET on PHL17.
