The Union have one point over their last two matches but they haven't been lacking for chances. Still, Jim Curtin knows that getting a superstar like Marco Fabián back on the pitch can provide the spark his team needs to get to the next level.
The Union head coach also spoke about how he'll keep legs fresh as his team plays three games in nine days and finishes off four straight matches against Western Conference competition.
"Marco brings a ton of quality," Curtin opened. "And right now we need all our guys to be killers around the box. That's been a downfall the last couple games, so we've created a ton of chances but being more ruthless in front of goal is something we've worked on."
That ruthlessness allowed Portland to grab a win with only a few big looks, and it handed Seattle a road point even though the Union dominated one of the better teams in the west. Even though Curtin would have preferred more finishes from open play, he also wondered about one opportunity in which Brenden Aaronson was stepped on in the box without a call. Referee Drew Fischer looked as though he was speaking with the VAR official during the match, but Philly's head coach revealed that a technology malfunction prevented the referee and the VAR from communicating and evaluating Aaronson's penalty claim.
"The potential PK from the last game, they never actually checked that because what happened was the video and audio went out so they lost contact for that four or five minute period in the game so that was never actually reviewed," Curtin explained with a shrug.
The young midfielder has played significant minutes in Marco Fabián's absence, but Curtin believes he will be able to rotate his squad this week to ensure players like Aaronson that have taken on heavy workloads can last the full season.
"You’ll see some fresh legs tomorrow and see some fresh legs against Minnesota," he hinted. "We need to keep a fresh team and the way we play is very demanding because we ask the guys to run and cover ground."
Curtin closed by complimenting the Rapids' interim head coach, and a man he once wrote into his own starting lineups. "[Conor] Casey played under [Jurgen] Klopp at Mainz 05 so he had to think like a coach at some point," Curtin noted. "Conor is one of these forgotten great American players. You can make a list like [Steve] Cherundolo somehow doesn’t get enough recognition or get into our Hall of Fame which is insane. Conor Casey, I’d throw in John O’Brien, these kind of guys that went over and did things in Europe that were absolutely incredible and ahead of their time.
"He's really turned them around," Curtin continued, "And you see a team that is more committed to attack and that’s what Conor was and you see them be direct and be aggressive.
"They aren’t going to just come here and park the bus, we don’t anticipate that. They are trying to impress a new coach and they’ve won twice in a row and in this league confidence is everything."
That confident and aggressive Colorado team comes to Talen Energy Stadium Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. looking for their third consecutive win.
