CHESTER, Pa. – Already off to their worst start in franchise history, things won’t get any easier for the Philadelphia Union.
Sunday’s nationally televised game against D.C. United at PPL Park (7 pm ET, Fox Sports 1) kicks off a stretch of four straight contests against teams in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference for a Philly squad that’s picked up just one win through its first 11 games.
What does the captain of a sinking ship – Maurice Edu – try to convey to his teammates during such challenging times?
“We have to realize we’re in this together,” Edu told MLSsoccer.com from training this week. “We have to stick together as a team. We can’t go off into small little groups. That’s how the team falls apart. Through the good times and the bad times, you have to stick together. I think that’s what we’re trying to instill in this group. The only way to get out of the situation is if we work together.”
The Union (1-7-3) have struggled in past years, but never quite like this. Two-and-a-half months into the season, the team has already suffered through two losing streaks of three games or more.
And a loss to D.C. on Sunday would mark the first five-game losing skid in the franchise’s six-year history – an ignominious feat they would certainly like to avoid.
“It’s been a real tough time obviously,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said. “I’ve never been a part of something this difficult in the losing part of things; I guess maybe at Villanova when I was playing there but, professionally, this is the first time I’ve gone through a tough time like this. And the only way to get it right and fix it is through the hard work you put into training and then the 90 minutes that you get on the weekend to execute and get out of a hole.”
If there’s any bit of solace the Union can take heading into Sunday’s game, it’s that there’s a belief in their locker room that they’re better than their record indicates. And it’s certainly true the Union have endured a lot of bad luck this season, especially in the injury department.
Edu is aware of this as much as anyone. But the Union captain also knows it doesn’t justify just how far the team has sunk through 11 games.
“Some of the earlier games, I felt like we played well and we were unlucky here or there or a bounce didn’t fall our way here or there,” Edu said. “But in saying that, you create your own luck. I think the best teams find a way to win even when they don’t play well, when things aren’t going their way. Now the challenge is there for us to do that, to find a way to turn this tide a little bit and get that first win to get rolling.”
It would certainly be an ideal time for the Union to get that first win this weekend against one of their fiercest rivals.
“It’s a big game for us,” Edu said. “We’re in a tough position. We need points as soon as possible.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
