D.C. United will look for their first back-to-back home wins under first-year coach Troy Lesesne when the Philadelphia Union visit Washington on Saturday following rare consecutive home losses.
Oddly enough, the teams share their most recent opponent, the Seattle Sounders.
Philadelphia was badly outplayed in the first half of a 3-2 home loss Tuesday night to Seattle in the completion of a match initially suspended for inclement weather March 9.
It got better after halftime for the Union, with Jack McGlynn and Daniel Gazdag scoring two minutes apart to chop a three-goal deficit to one. Gazdag’s 57th career Philly goal in all competitions made him the club’s all-time top scorer.
But coach Jim Curtin was still left regretful of a first-half struggle to match the tenacity of a Sounders squad in search of their first away win.
“It’s a Seattle team that was desperate for points, that has a lot of experience, a lot of great players, and we didn’t match their intensity for the first half,” Curtin said. “When you put yourself behind by that many goals in our building, which should never happen, it makes it very difficult.”
D.C. was one contributor to the Sounders’ desperation, having earned a 2-1 win over Seattle last Saturday via Christian Benteke’s seventh and eighth league goals.
But perhaps Lesesne’s squad was fortunate to earn that result in a match transformed by a red card issued to visiting goalkeeper Stefan Frei before halftime.
The Sounders arguably created the better chances after the break despite D.C.’s numerical edge. And as the Union visit comes a full week later, Lesesne is wary of judging Philly by its recent form.
“I understand the results the last two matches haven’t been what Philly usually experiences, particularly at home,” he said. “But when you watch the match in detail … it’s an opponent that’s very clear in their way.
“A lot of talented players. When they get going, as they did in the second half of that match, they’re one of the best teams in the league.”
–Field Level Media
