Philadelphia Union Look to Rebound from Champions Cup Exit Against Austin FC
Phil West from Verde All Day joined the Union Soccer Blog match preview to take a deeper look at Austin FC.
The Philadelphia Union need to produce some sort of response on Saturday in Austin to their embarrassing Concacaf Champions Cup exit on Tuesday.
Union manager Jim Curtin is well aware of the situation that faces his team against Austin FC.
“It was obviously an unacceptable performance from the group, and as the leader, I take responsibility. It was a night that went wrong from the start,” Curtin said.
“I’m fully confident we’ll put in a strong performance and look like us,” he continued. “The players are together. I think they all understand and recognize that wasn’t us. Sometimes you have games that go poorly, but you should never have a score line with the way that was.”
A year ago, the Union reeled off back-to-back road victories over the New York Red Bulls and Colorado Rapids following their continental exit at the hands of Los Angeles FC.
The Union went on to win six of their first seven games after the CCL exit in 2023 with the only blemish during that run being a scoreless draw against D.C. United.
In 2021, the Union beat Orlando City and Atlanta United in the two games immediately after their CCL exit at the hands of Club America.
The Union put together a six-game unbeaten streak on the heels of that exit.
So, if anything, there is precedent the Union will turn things around, starting on Saturday.
A healthy Julian Carranza will be on the field from the start. Curtin rarely confirms starters in his pre-match press conference, but he did just that with the Argentinian’s status for Saturday.
Austin comes into Saturday with two ties and a loss from its first three games.
Phil West from Verde All Day on Substack provided some insight on what to expect from the Union’s first-ever meeting with Austin FC.
Sebastian Driussi, the star of Austin’s expansion season, has yet to appear in a MLS match this season, but could come off the bench on Saturday.
Here’s what Phil had to say about Driussi and Austin’s playing style to start the 2024 MLS campaign.
“It's not explicitly being said by head coach Josh Wolff, but we're all reasonably sure that sporting director Rodolfo Borrell is bringing some of his soccer acumen to Austin FC's game planning, and it's resulting in a lot of pragmatism — which, frankly, Austin needs to grind out results until they can get some more roster upgrades in. For instance, last weekend against St. Louis, they played more direct, ceded possession whereas they usually want it (to a team that most definitely does not), and very nearly pulled off a win, only ceding a goal late when a gassed Ethan Finlay was shifted to right back to make a very puzzling back five.
Also, speaking of Driussi, he hasn't played a single regular-season minute yet because of a hamstring injury. I think there's a reasonable chance he'll get about 20-30 minutes late in Saturday's match. He showed some flashes in preseason helping everyone remember he's a gifted player.”
Without Driussi in the starting lineup, Phil pointed out Diego Rubio as one of Austin’s players to watch.
“I don't know how much national run Diego Rubio is getting, but much of Austin's success will depend on him. He's looked good so far as he's worked to full fitness, and as we determined from his first start for Austin last week, he's the closest thing to a 10 that Verde has, and he's also the team's best 9. Also, if you want someone who's really under the radar, fullback Guilherme Biro might not even be the most famous Guilherme Biro playing in Brazil, and might be rounding into regular starter status as he gets more fitness. He also scored Austin's first regular-season goal, although that was a consolation goal at the end of a really ghastly opening match against the Loons.”
I also had to ask about the viewpoint of the Eastern Conference from the Western Conference perspective since it feels like teams from both conferences play each other less nowadays.
“Austin fans travel well, and the annual schedule release is anticipated by fans who want to see what new destinations they'll have thanks to Eastern Conference games. I know some fans wanted to play the Union in Chester to have that road trip — maybe we'll get that next year? Also, right now, West teams can't help but respect East teams. But also, Austin started its happy 2022 journey with absolute beatdowns of FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami at home. (That was Brek Shea's Inter Miami, not Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.) The general consensus from fans going into this match is that Philly's part of a tough opening stretch of matches, but also vulnerable coming off CCC play.”
Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union.