CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin has accepted the hard truth that his team currently owns the worst record in MLS, and he isn’t making any excuses for it.
But with 11 games left in the regular season, starting with the team’s first-ever contest vs. Orlando City SC on Saturday at the Citrus Bowl (7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE), he’s also not giving up hope at a last-ditch playoff run.
“Yes, we do see where we are in the standings,” Curtin said. “But it can change quickly. If you can get on a little bit of a two-game winning streak in this league, it goes a long way. But I’m a realist. We’re running out of games. We’re running out of time.”
While they’ve been outside the playoff picture for just about the entire season, the Union were in better position a month ago after capping a three-game unbeaten streak with a 3-0 romp of Portland. But since then, they’ve sputtered to their third three-game losing streak of the season to fall into last place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-13-4 overall record.
They’ve also allowed a league-high 40 goals, including three in each of their last two losses. And things might not got any easier this week as star center back Maurice Edu is dealing with a groin injury and may be held out to get better in time for Wednesday’s US Open Cup semifinal vs. the Chicago Fire.
“It’s a scary one,” Curtin said of Edu. “We have to be smart with how we manage it and put a team on the field that can get points against Orlando – and then obviously a game of consequence when it’s win or go home [vs. Chicago].”
Curtin will have some more defensive options for their upcoming stretch – which includes another home game against the Fire the following weekend – as Richie Marquez is poised to return to the lineup after missing two straight league games with an ankle injury.
The club also bolstered their defensive depth with Friday’s trade with Toronto FC for Warren Creavalle. And Curtin seems prepared to unleash marquee transfer-window prize Tranquillo Barnetta after the Swiss midfielder played just 26 minutes in his MLS debut this past weekend.
But even with those additions, the Union are still dealing with other injuries and know that making a run in league play while trying to win two more Open Cup games won’t be easy.
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“Like I’ve said to you guys before, the table doesn’t lie,” Curtin said. “After 34 games, it tells a true story. Has there been adversity? Yeah, but every team has adversity. … I still believe in this group. The group still fights their butts off for me and the fans and the city. But we’ve come up short in a lot of ways.”
But while time may indeed be running out on Philly’s hopes of making the playoffs for just the second time in the club’s six-year history, the Union aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
“We are watching the standings,” said winger Sebastien Le Toux, who scored his 50th career MLS goal last week. “We can see that we are last. I think nobody is happy. … But I think after a few weeks, we win the next three games, [and] we’ll have another discussion with this, and we’ll talk about maybe making the playoffs.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
