Philadelphia Union tie with CF Montreal: ‘we have to be at out absolute maximim’

A Philadelphia Union fan watches the match against the CF Montreal in the first half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports
A Philadelphia Union fan watches the match against the CF Montreal in the first half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports /
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Philadelphia Union draw at home

It was a disappointing 1-1 home draw for the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night against CF Montreal. A result that head coach Jim Curtin thinks showed some uncharacteristic sloppiness on the part of his team.

A Quinn Sullivan goal in the 87th minute salvaged a point for the home side. The 17-year old showed composure in settling a ball at the top of the penalty area and firing it into the top corner from 20 yards out.

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But while Sullivan’s second goal of the season was a big sign of his growth and development, Curtin saw some things from his team that were troubling. The Union were sloppy, gave the ball away and were lacking in the final third despite 57 possession on the night.

They registered 13 shots but just one shot on goal against CF Montreal.

“So again it’s a lesson for us that every time we step on the field [that] we have to be at our absolute maximum. And we weren’t tonight. We had some good moments in the game, but for the whole the 90 minutes not sharp enough. But with that without the ball,” Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin said after the match.

“So some things to work on and improve. Again, still give the guy’s credit for pushing a great goal by quitting, obviously at the end of the game. You take the point for us, but at the same time, we know that we’re a better team than what we showed.”

The Union are in third place in the Eastern Conference on 32 points (8-8-5 record).

Philadelphia Union underwhelm in draw

The draw follows the Philadelphia Union’s 1-0 win midweek over New York City FC, a game which Curtin described as the best result his team had achieved this season. And with clubs such as Atlanta United getting hot, the Union’s squandered points at home could be costly.

On the flip side, the weekend tie showed a Union side that wasn’t very sharp and was perhaps a bit fortunate to come away with any points.

“So, you know overall though, you know, the guys, they worked hard, they put a lot into the game, but I think we can work a lot smarter, especially the decision making in the final third because we had a lot of the ball,” Curtin said.

“Montreal was very disciplined and they’ve got numbers behind it so finding that final ball is something that we didn’t do well enough tonight. And as we got tired and we fatigued, we made some really poor decisions.

“So a lot of thru-balls that went straight out of bounds or straight to the goalkeeper or careless turnovers that led to us having to run 60-70 yards and put more wear on our legs. Just wasn’t our, our sharpest, but at least we salvaged the point out of it and a loss would really bad. But again, we’ll have to regroup get better, but certainly, breaking things down against teams that are organized defensively and sitting [back] a little bit is something that we need to get better.”