Union looking to parlay momentum in trip to Miami – Daily Local

Few games typified the Philadelphia Union’s early offensive slog quite like the May 18 visit from Inter Miami.

Sandwiched between quality away results, the Wednesday affair seemed like a chance for the Union to get points at home against a club well below it in the standings. Instead, it devolved into a lifeless 0-0 quagmire, the visitors pleased to escape Chester with a point pilfered from underwhelming hosts.

So perhaps its fitting that Inter Miami is first up for the Union Wednesday night (8 p.m., PHL17) on the heels of what could be a fortune-changing rout of D.C. United.

While the Union’s offense may have turned a corner, so has an Inter Miami side that in Year 3 has finally approached something close to coherent roster construction.

“They play the right way,” Union manager Jim Curtin said via Zoom Monday. “They’re very organized. They gave us a handful in our own building, so we know it’ll be a difficult task there.”

After two years chasing the shiniest objects that David Beckham’s soccer clout could land, Inter Miami (6-8-4, 22 points) has freed itself of most of the bloat. Instead, they have a cogent philosophy that has them 10th in the East, four points out of a playoff spot. They’re difficult to play against, as they proved the last time they visited Chester, though they’re coming off the disappointment of a 1-0 loss to Orlando City on Saturday. That game, decided in stoppage time by a Damion Lowe own goal, was delayed several hours by lightning, compounding the Union’s rest advantage.

There’s also the matter of momentum. Against a decrepit D.C., the Union scored as many goals Friday as in their previous eight outings combined. The biggest contribution came via Inter Miami loanee Julian Carranza, who buried a hat trick and was named MLS Player of the Week. Carranza is ineligible to play against his parent club, per MLS intra-league loan rules.

That might not be the worst thing for the Union (8-2-9, 33 points), who have occasionally followed good performances with clunkers. Carranza’s absence guarantees an injection of fresh legs – perhaps Paxten Aaronson or Quinn Sullivan to pump up the counterpress against a Miami team determined to play out of the back, sometimes to its detriment.

“It’s a good problem for a coach to have,” Curtin said. “We have a starting group that gave a great response and performed really well on Friday. We have young guys that are pushing for minutes and are hungry, that can change a game, which is helpful. I have tough decisions to make, but in think we’ll approach it one game at a time and try to get a result in Miami.”

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For the second straight year, Andre Blake and Kai Wagner were named MLS All-Stars Tuesday.

The two Union players will join the MLS side for a match against Liga MX All-Stars on Aug. 10 in St. Paul, Minnesota. A total of 26 players were selected – 12 by fan vote, 12 by Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath, who will coach the squad, and two by commissioner Don Garber.

Wagner has cemented his place among the league’s best left backs in his fourth season in Philadelphia. The 25-year-old German has eight assists (five secondary assists), including three assists in last week’s win over D.C. United. He’s also played every minute for the stingiest defense in MLS.

Blake has backstopped that defense, allowing just 13 goals in 19 matches. The Jamaican earned his third All-Star Game nod, to go with 2016. He was the 2016 and 2020 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.