The Philadelphia Union returned home on Sunday following a 5-0 victory in New York on Wednesday, playing host to regional rival D.C. United. While Subaru Park has not been a fortress this season for the club, with only three wins coming into the match, the night proved to be something different as the Union rode the momentum from Wednesday, supported by a Daniel Gazdag brace and two Quinn Sullivan assists, to secure a 4-0 victory.

“I didn’t start the game very well. Curtin said, I thought the first 10 minutes, we were a little off, maybe a little fatigued from New York City. But after that, I think the goal woke us up, and I thought we performed very well, good professional performance. Important to keep a clean sheet.”

The starting lineup was announced with only three changes from the midweek NYCFC lineup: Quinn Sullivan replaced Alejandro Bedoya. Jack Elliott returned from suspension, so Nate Harriel replaced Olivier Mbaizo as well. Andre Blake made his return to the starting lineup, while Danley Jean Jacques returned to the bench. D.C. United, meanwhile, adopted a more defensive approach with five players in the back

The game opened with both teams feeling each other out, with D.C. United having more quality chances in the first 4 minutes. In the 10th minute, D.C. had their first major chance with a great shot from range that was saved by Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.

“We were a little bit lucky,” Jim added. “We did do a good job blocking some things for sure and protecting Andre as best we could. He still had to make too many saves.”

On the night, D.C. had 16 shots but only four on target. The Union’s coach mentioned that they were a bit lucky, acknowledging that they did a good job blocking shots and protecting Blake, but he felt they allowed too many chances.

“We gave up too many chances,” Curtin echoed. “I thought the first half and even the second half, too, our marking in the box was a little bit loose, and on a night where, if the opponent was a little sharper and cleaner, they could have scored some goals tonight. So I don’t like tonight, from the standpoint that it could have been, we probably could have scored eight goals. They probably could have scored three or four. So I don’t like that, you know. So it was a little too wide open. So we certainly have things to tighten up.”

The Union broke into the scoring column with Mikael Uhre, assisted by Quinn Sullivan, marking Uhre’s 10th regular season goal and 13th overall this season, giving the Union an early 1-0 lead. This was the first time Mikael had scored in 4 consecutive games in his career.

“The more he touches the ball on the run of play, it leads to more involvement in the game,” Jim said. “He has to avoid the spells where there’s 15 to 20 minutes where you don’t see him, you know, you know, those are the things that I think he’s avoided in the recent games. And he’s been able to even come off the center backs a little bit, pop up in different spots.”

The Union followed up Uhre’s goal with another from Daniel Gazdag in the 16th minute to make it 2-0. Both teams traded chances until the 27th minute, with D.C. again having two quality opportunities. However, through 30 minutes, the Union had three shots, all on target.

In the 49th minute, Jack McGlynn took a shot from outside the 18-yard box that went wide, leading to a goal kick for D.C. The Union entered halftime with a 2-0 lead.

In the second half, Nate Harriel was fouled just outside the box in the 49th minute, leading to the Union’s first chance, where Kai Wagner surprised keeper Bono with a low shot on target. The Union’s third goal came when Quinn Sullivan crossed the ball to Tai Baribo, who beat Bono to make it 3-0.

In the 70th minute, a beautiful buildup off pressure resulted in a drop-off from Tai Baribo to Gazdag, netting Daniel his 17th goal of the season and putting the Union up 4-0.

In the 84th minute, the supporters began chanting “It’s a school night” as Cavan Sullivan was subbed on. The Union created a few more chances as the clock wound down to the final whistle, with the supporters section cheering loudly.

Quinn Sullivan had two key assists in the game, which earned him a spot on the Team of the Matchday for MLS, alongside teammate Daniel Gazdag, who ended up on the bench.

Jim Curtin noted, “That’s what good players do, I think you saw him be able to things we’ve talked about in the past, be able to slow down and make really he has the ability to go by the first guy, which then changes the whole defense, because teams have to adjust, and it’s a domino effect. And he was able to go by people get into what we call the assist zone, the area the field where he played his passes, from percentage wise, is the most dangerous area that leads to to a high percentage of goals. So Quinn did a really good job getting into that.”

With the victory, the Union moved back into the number nine spot in the Eastern Conference, tied with Toronto with 36 points. Montreal dropped to 10th place, only 2 points behind the Union at 34. The Union will return to action next Saturday against a confident Atlanta United, who picked up another point on the road and are currently tied with D.C. and Nashville, each with 33 points for 11th in the Eastern Conference.

A victory next Saturday will go a long way for the Union in creating separation in their playoff hunt, heading into a daunting final three games that include away matches at Orlando and Columbus, before returning home for Decision Day against Cincinnati.

“We dug ourselves in too deep of a hole. Didn’t look like ourselves at the beginning of the year, but the guys are continuing to fight and get their way out of it,” commented Curtin. Time will tell if the Union can indeed dig themselves out and into the playoffs.