CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union interim manager Jim Curtin could not have been more matter-of-fact about it.
Late in the Philadelphia Union’s scoreless draw with the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Houston’s AJ Cochrane took down Philly midfielder Vincent Nogueira in the box (video above).
The whistle did not blow. Curtin is certain that it should have.
“It’s a penalty,” the Philadelphia boss said bluntly. “It’s a penalty, for sure. You talk to [Nogueira] and he says it’s a penalty. He’s about as honest as they get. The ref was actually good on the night, except for the biggest play. I said it to him when I shook his hand.”
The play was a tough one for the Union, who felt they did enough to deserve the three points against a Dynamo team that didn’t put a single shot on goal.
But given that they missed plenty of chances without referee intervention – mostly from Conor Casey – they tried not to focus too much on the no-call, with Curtin saying that mistakes are “part of the game” after admitting that his team’s performance was “not our best effort.”
Sheanon Williams agreed – although the fullback’s frustration at referee Geoff Gamble was still evident.
“It’s a penalty,” Williams said. “I don’t want to use that as an excuse. It is what it is. But that kind of stuff going down the line, you look back at it. It’s definitely a tough one to swallow.”
Despite playing some of his best soccer of the season this week, Nogueira hasn’t caught many breaks lately. In Tuesday’s 3-1 extra-time loss to the Seattle Sounders in the US Open Cup Final, his potential game-winner hit the post after a brilliant give-and-go with Cristian Maidana. And on Saturday, he made a great run before going down in the box – just moments before curling a free kick just wide.
But Nogueira remained upbeat in the locker room after the game, and Sebastien Le Toux – who agreed that the no-call was a definite PK – believes the breaks will start going his French teammate’s way.
“He made a good cut in the box and the ball ran past the defender and he tackled Vincent,” Le Toux said. “It’s contact in the box for me. It’s frustrating that we didn’t get the call, especially at the end of the game when it’s important.
“I hope he’ll continue to create chances and take risks,” he added. “Hopefully things will go his way soon. It’s just a matter of time, I hope.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
