WASHINGTON — After the Philadelphia Union’s record-tying fourth consecutive league win and fifth in all competitions, there remains plenty of work ahead to wrap up a playoff spot and a potential U.S. Open Cup title.
They do believe, however, that they’ve made a point following Wednesday’s 2-0 win over D.C. United.
“We’ve proved to people that we don’t suck,” said winger Fafa Picault, who scored the second goal for a Union side that became more dominant as an oppressive evening wore on. “Everybody thought we sucked. So now that it’s obvious we don’t, we’re doing better. We’re moving up the table. We’re not focused on the teams that are below us. We’re trying to reach as high as we can.”
CJ Sapong also scored before halftime for Philadelphia (12-11-3, 39 points), which moved to within a point of Columbus Crew SC for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and the right to host a home playoff match.
After beginning the season with two wins in nine games, they’re also 10 points to the good side of the playoff line, and leave D.C. having dealt a serious blow to United’s postseason hopes.
“I could talk about a lot of different things, but I do have to say, I love my players right now,” said Union head coach Jim Curtin. “I love each and every one of them. The effort that they’re given. There’s something special going on with this group. Player one through 30 has been pushing things along the right way.”
United (7-11-6, 27 points) were shut out and defeated for a second time in four days, while again missing a chance to slide into seventh place in the East and within three points of sixth-place Montreal.
“We concede the first goal, it’s going to be a long night,” said D.C. coach Ben Olsen, whose squad had the better of the early play before Sapong’s opener. “Because now you have to chase the game. And coming off two days rest … .
“You saw it in the second half. We were cooked.”
Philadelphia became the second away side to win at Audi Field in seven matches. And unlike the Red Bulls’ 1-0 triumph on July 25, they looked squarely in control after halftime. By the end, the Union led 13-9 in shots and 7-3 in efforts on target, and edged possession with 53 percent of it.
“We’ve known we’ve always had more to give throughout the season,” Sapong said. “We felt like the ball just didn’t roll our way. And now we’re at the point where things have been clicking to the point where we innately know that we’re going to get on the field and we’re going to be fitter and we’re going to be able to keep the ball against teams, that confidence before the game even starts definitely translated into the game.”
