Jim Curtin all but challenged his big three attackers to produce closer to the world-beating level they were at in 2022.
In the first 45 minutes Wednesday night, that trio responded.
Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre and Julian Carranza all scored in the first half, and the Union needed all that cushion to survive Atlanta United’s feverish rally in a 3-2 win.
The decision snaps a streak of five straight draws for the Union (15-8-9, 54 points). They stay third in the East, one point ahead of fourth-place Columbus and three back of Orlando in second. It’s the third straight season the Union have notched 10 wins at home, and it extends their unbeaten streak to seven games (2-0-5).
A big issue for the Union lagging behind where they were last year is less production than a year ago. Before Wednesday, the Union’s big thee had 33 goals and 18 assists, well down from 49 and 25 last year. They added three and two against Atlanta.
Gazdag’s was a thing of beauty, an overhead kick from the edge of the six-yard box that goalie Brad Guzan had no chance on in the 39th. Alejandro Bedoya fed a quickly played free kick toward Gazdag for his 14th goal of the season, though just his third from open play.
Two minutes later, the Union played the kind of counterattack that has appeared too seldom this year. Jack Elliott started it with a ball forward. It flowed through Gazdag to Uhre, and when no one stepped to the Danish forward, he buried his chance low and to the right of Guzan from 15 yards. It’s his first goal since Aug. 26 and his ninth of the season.
Carranza got on the board in stoppage time, the Union playing through Atlanta thanks to a longball over the top by Jack McGlynn. The Carranza chested it down and played a 1-2 with Gazdag, who found the Argentine behind the defense for his 13th of the campaign.
They would need all of that early offense. Thiago Almada got a goal back in the 56th minute, when video review determined that Carranza handled a corner kick. The Argentina World Cup winner sent Andre Blake the wrong way from the spot.
Edwin Mosquera cashed in on a scramble in the 77th, after Blake made an outstanding goal-line stop on him. But in the chaos, Tristan Muyumba was quicker to the ball to find Mosquera to bury it past Blake, who had stumbled into his own goal. Jamal Thiare sent a header just over the bar in the 84th minute as the visitors poured on incessant pressure after the break. But Blake made four saves to turn it away. Atlanta (13-9-10, 49 points) stays sixth in the East.
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment