It felt almost strange to have a game with some stakes in it at Subaru Park for the first time in a while. But the Union’s two-game winning streak coming into Saturday night gave Atlanta United’s visit the shine of a must-win contest.
They’re all must-win in theory, of course, if the Union want to mount a charge toward the playoffs. Still, it mattered that Atlanta specifically was the visitor this time: the team the hosts climbed over last weekend to finally get out of the basement.
For 95 minutes, it seemed the Union were going to not just lose, but lose badly. They’d been a man up since the 26th minute, yet Atlanta scored far-too-easy goals in the 30th and 66th.
Even after Milan Iloski’s terrific backheeled flick in the 73rd cut the deficit, there were so many more heaves into the box that had no end product against the visitors’ massed defense. It was bad enough that Bruno Damiani only had one shot in his 71 minutes, but it was far worse that he didn’t even contest some of those crosses — the kind of play that’s supposed to be his bread and butter.
There was, though, one reason to wonder if the Union might be capable of a comeback. Damiani’s departure came as part of not just a double-substitution, but a major tactical change by interim manager Ryan Richter. He gambled on switching from the usual 4-2-2-2 to a 3-4-1-2, withdrawing Nathan Harriel and leaving 18-year-old Neil Pierre as the only true centerback — flanked by outside backs Kai Wagner and Frankie Westfield.
Players win and lose games more than anyone else, especially in soccer with its limited substitutions. But this time, coaching had a genuine impact. The wave of attacks finally broke Atlanta down, as Pierre jumped for the equalizer in the 86th and Ezekiel Alladoh volleyed in the winner 80 seconds later.
For once, Subaru Park was stunned in a good way. And Richter had made a point to people wondering if he should have the job long-term.
“In these games — to me at least — home games in MLS, you have to go for the win,” he said. “It’s not satisfying to go for the tie. One point at home is not enough to make the push that you want throughout a season. So, in all these whenever we’re in this situation, it’s us trying to go for the win.”
One part Richter wouldn’t say, understandably: assume Bradley Carnell wouldn’t have done it. Maybe a lot of managers wouldn’t have. But the point about Carnell needs to be made, because the Union’s bad record wasn’t the only reason to fire him. His stubbornness mattered too.
When Richter was given the job, fans rightly wanted to know if he’d be as rigid. The initial hints were he might not go entirely as far, but was pretty committed, along with sporting director Jon Scheer.
Then Saturday happened. If the Union had lost, you’d be reading here about how the shine was off now. A little of it is anyway, because this game re-exposed this roster’s flaws despite the final score.
For now, though, a win is a win. The celebrations on the field and in the stands were the real thing.
“It’s a risk because you’re just basically saying you’re going to deal with one-v-one situations for the rest of the game,” the manager said. “You’re going to sometimes deal with a two-v-one situation where it’s a direct ball, and if you don’t win the header, it’s trouble. But also, just from a physical perspective, if you want to put someone there, it’s Neil when it’s a direct ball out, or it’s a situation where it’s a one-v-one that he has to win — you trust his physicality in all those moments.”
But Richter was willing to try, and he was rewarded.
“It’s also taking a chance, that part is clear,” he said. “It’s taking a chance to try to go for the goal, and maybe it goes the other way, but it’s a risk that we have to take, because we needed to make that push at the end.”
Wagner, who’s now playing for his third manager at Subaru Park, knew what it meant.
“If I would be honest, this guy has some balls,” he said. “It showed a lot of character from him.”
Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
It also matters a lot that Alladoh finally scored his first goal in a MLS game, after 16 league appearances without one. The only previous tally for the Union’s most expensive all-time signing came in the Concacaf Champions Cup rout of Trinidad’s Defence Force.
“I mean, what a goal to score, what a moment to score it,” Richter said. “I think he can put himself in position to probably get easier goals than that. Happy for him, proud of him, and hopefully he takes a lot of confidence from this going forward, and shows a little bit of the talent that he has and what he can do to contribute to this team.”
The 20-year-old striker has been a man of few words throughout his time in Chester, and was again Saturday.
“The feeling in that moment was happiness, because it was my first [league] goal,” he said.
But Wagner had a lot to say, and it was clear he was speaking on behalf of many players.
“It’s hard for a striker to come as the record [signing] — you come in, you have a lot of pressure on your mind already,” he said. “It’s hard to come to a new country. It’s always hard to adapt so fast … I hope that’s a door-opener for him.”
When Alladoh was told of those remarks, he gave thanks.
“That means so much for me, because I think everybody believes in me,” he said. “They know what I can do.”
The Union still have a long way to go in the standings. Saturday’s results put them 13th in the Eastern Conference (4-10-4, 16 points), seven points back of ninth-place D.C. United for the last playoff spot. It will be a while before that changes, because the scene now shifts to three straight games in the Leagues Cup group stage.
But a three-game winning streak is grounds for a moment of optimism. Especially after a night when, for so long, it seemed like there was only going to be frustration.
