On Sunday night’s Matchday Central on MLSSoccer.com, the hosts talked about the outstanding start that has the Union in first place in the Eastern Conference table. While there are still 23 games left in the regular season, the four-person desk was intrigued by the Union’s future prospects for numerous reasons.
When Andrew Wiebe asked former FC Dallas midfielder Bobby Warshaw if the Union have gotten over the hump of being up and down, Warshaw pointed to the nuances of the 2019 Union system.
“One the measures of a very good team is the ability to win games in different ways, the Philadelphia Union last year and probably the year before could beat you through possession but if they couldn’t pass through how could they beat you,” Warshaw said. “This year they defend a little better, they defend a little harder, they can press you but most specifically than anything else they counter press extremely well so through their possession if they don’t beat you in the first wave, they win the ball back quickly and then they have a second wave that gets you when you are out of shape a little bit on that 50/50 ball. The Union are finding new ways to be able to score goals.”
The ability to score goals hasn’t just been from one player like most seen in the current version of MLS where designated strikers capture the spotlight. For the Union DP and team captain Alejandro Bedoya brings not only goals but leadership that was on full display in the Union’s five-goal second half. Former Union forward Charlie Davies says that combination along with Ernst Tanner’s new players should continue to pay dividends as the race for the postseason heats up.
“They have a good mix of veteran presence in the locker room, they have youth, they have guys that have speed, they have guys up top that are strong, Przybylko up top,” Davies said. “This team is built in the right way and if they continue to play the way they are, this is going to be one of those teams we look at at the end of the year and say they have a chance to win it all.”
You can see the whole clip from Sunday night’s show here.
