It’s been a rough start to the inaugural season of the Philadelphia Union.
Playing most of their matches on the road, the team has dropped to an unfortunate 1-5-0 record, with their lone win coming at home while the other five losses have been away from Philadelphia.
Finally set to return to play in front of their home fans, the Union think the match against FC Dallas this Saturday could really help to turn things around as the season kicks into high gear.
“It’s important for any team to have a good record at home,” said Union forward Alejandro Moreno after training on Wednesday. “Certainly the way we’ve started the season, we’ve put a little bit of pressure on ourselves to try and get those results at home. We’re looking forward to this opportunity and it’s another chance for us to play in front of our fans. We’re excited for this game on Saturday and hopefully providing our fans with something to be happy about.”
Getting the results is the important thing and the road has certainly been tough to the expansion team this season. Scoring only three goals while allowing 12, Peter Nowak’s side will welcome a return to Lincoln Financial Field.
Midfielder Fred is glad to be back home, but realizes that even playing in front of your own fans isn’t always an easy task.
“It is very good for us, you know?,” said Fred of how he feels about returning home. “We’ve already had five games away so it’s good when you play at home and to bring your confidence back, but you need to win the games to do that.
“It is also difficult to play at home. The problem that we have been having so far with being away is that we have been making mistakes and haven’t been able to score. We’re playing well and the only thing we need to do now is to win.”
With another massive crowd expected at the Linc on Saturday, the pressure will be on for the Union to put in a similar result to the last time they were at home. Beating D.C. United 3-2 and thoroughly bossing the game, the Union seemed destined to bounce back from their opening night loss to Seattle and push forward with more positive results.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be as the next four games on the road all yielded losses for the club and because of that run they find themselves in the cellar of the Eastern Conference.
The first step in pulling themselves out is Saturday in a match that Union defender Michael Orozco really wants to win, not only for the team, but for the loyal Philadelphia fans.
“Everyone’s happy just being back home and having our fans with us. It plays a big role. Every time you have an away match, the fans from the other team are always on you, booing you, there is always pressure. You’re playing against 11 players plus the fans. Playing here and from what I’ve seen from the first game, they’re really into it and it helps us a lot. It pumps us up and makes us want to give them the three points.”
