Brotherly Game Archive
Philadelphia Union head to Texas for big match-up with FC Dallas
The Union’s last Western Conference road trip of the season is a mid-week showdown in Frisco, Texas
This is when the season really starts to matter. With less than ten matches remaining in the MLS Regular Season, the Philadelphia Union sits atop the Eastern Conference with 48 points. They are ahead of second place CF Montreal by five points off the back of a massive 4-1 victory against Chicago.
Philadelphia needed a rapid bounce-back after their 3-1 trashing at the hands of FC Cincinnati. The result came out of nowhere, Philadelphia winning the previous five contests. In a league as tough as MLS, one loss can quickly mount to a few if you’re not careful. Philadelphia did what they needed to do against a Chicago team fighting for a playoff spot, winning comfortably 4-1 at Subaru Park.
“Overall a really good response from the group,” head coach Jim Curtin said after Saturday’s win. “This team always has a strong response after a game where we don’t look like us. I would call the Cincinnati game a game where we weren’t ourselves. We tend to have a way of bouncing back.”
Everything looked right for Philadelphia Saturday night. Right now they have multiple options in attack who can create and generate goals. Daniel Gazdag has been nothing short of sensational this season. For anyone doubting him after last season, where he didn’t play bad at all but still needed to truly find his footing, he’s silenced the critics with his play this year. Gazdag currently leads the club in goals with 12, good for eighth most in the league. Julian Carranza also scored his ninth of the season.
Philadelphia now has a massive match on the horizon with a trip to Dallas scheduled for Wednesday night. Currently FC Dallas are the third seed in the Western Conference behind juggernauts LAFC and FC Austin. Dallas have one of the better defenses in the league, only allowing 28 goals. It’s definitely not as good as Philadelphia’s 19 goals allowed, but certainly will give a tough contest to a Union attack that is starting to come into its own.
FC Dallas are currently in a dog fight for a home playoff spot. While currently in third with 39 points, Minnesota, and Real Salt Lake both sit within two points. Dallas are coming off of a big win in their own right, a 4-1 thumping of San Jose, but have also lost and drawn in their last three.
Philadelphia takes on FC Dallas on Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern.