Columbus—The Philadelphia Union headed to Columbus on Saturday night, needing points on the road against the defending MLS and Leagues Cup champion, Columbus Crew.

Prior to the kickoff of the match, the Union received a big boost with Inter Miami defeating Toronto FC 1-0. With that being Toronto’s last match of the MLS regular season, the Union could clinch a playoff berth with a D.C. United loss in New England and a Union victory in Columbus.

However, as has seemed to be the theme at times with this squad, the Union were unable to get the result they needed, falling to the Crew 3-2 behind a pair of set-piece goals by Columbus striker Cucho Hernandez. “In a big game, you can’t allow the best player on the field to go free on the two restarts, and that was the difference tonight,” said Union head coach Jim Curtin. “Guys put in a good effort, for sure, but at this stage of the year, we have to do the little things right, and we didn’t.”

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The Union started that game with Columbus spending most of their time in the attacking end. In the third minute, the Union gave up a corner, which resulted in an easy header on net by Cucho Hernandez that beat Union keeper Andre Blake. In fact, Blake kept three chances out of the back, maintaining the deficit at one early in the match.

Other than a chip attempt by Quinn Sullivan, most of the opportunities were by the Crew, who maintained a 72% possession rate over the first twenty minutes. The first real quality chance came when Nate Harriel took a deflected shot and put it past Columbus keeper Patrick Schulte.

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In the 40th minute, the Union’s inability to clear defensively came back to bite them as Mo Farsi found the rebound and beat Blake to make it 2-1 Crew. The Union tried to capitalize moments later with a Tai Baribo header that was saved, but it opened up a counter by Columbus and almost resulted in another goal heading into the break down 2-1.

The Union came out after the break with two chances to tie the game, but both opportunities were not fruitful. As both teams grew into the second half, the game began to open up with both teams creating some chances.

In the 77th minute, Cucho got a brace on another Crew corner set piece to make it 3-1 Columbus. “The quality of Cucho is a different level, and we learned that the hard way tonight,” said Curtin. “Not just the goals he scored, but just how dangerous he was all night can kind of go to a level that not many players in our league can match. So he was excellent. It was a difficult night for us trying to deal with him.”

Jim went on to expound on the two set-piece goals even further. “If you look at both instances, Nathan’s in the free spot and can probably do a better job on both of them attacking the ball,” he said. “But if Cucho is able to run free and get in front of you without anyone making contact, it throws off his timing and his jumping. A guy like him, who can finish plays, is often a killer.”

However, just like that, Jack McGlynn beat Schulte to make it again a one-goal deficit for the Union. As the minutes began to wind down, the Union had a wonderful opportunity; however, Daniel Gazdag skied a chance that could have been a likely opportunity to equalize the game. As the final whistle sounded, the Union fell to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings and now will need help come Decision Day.

“We let the control kind of slip out of our hands here,” said Jim. “But they play hard. They fight for everything. It’s a great group of guys. They’re going to fight till the final whistle against Cincinnati. We’ll find a way to get a result there and get a win. And then, you know, stranger things have happened.”

In order to qualify for the playoffs, the Union must now wait two weeks over the international break before they face FC Cincinnati on Decision Day. They will need three points plus both D.C. United and Montreal to lose in order to qualify. “The disappointing part now is we have to rely on other teams,” said Curtin. “It is never a good feeling at this stage of the year. So we’ve put ourselves in this hole all season. We have to fight our way out and find a way to get a win against Cincinnati on the last day.”

The match with FC Cincinnati will be at home at Subaru Park on Saturday, October 19th, at 6:00 PM.