Chester — While the Daniel Gazdag report regarding a potential move to the Columbus Crew dominated headlines Wednesday, Union II head coach Ryan Richter also spoke to the media ahead of his squad’s match against Atlanta United 2 on Thursday at Subaru Park.
As Union II are coming off another draw in Huntsville before their bye week, Richter remains confident in his side, despite their 0-3-0 record early in the MLS NEXT Pro season.
“We had probably a 30-minute spell — the end of the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second half — where we created enough opportunities to probably score more than two goals and put the game away,” Richter said. “And that’s one that the players were disappointed with, and that was my message to them after the game. I was like, ‘Guys, if you don’t put games away when you have it in your control, that’s what can happen at the end.’
“It gets a little chaotic. We were lucky that we actually came away with a 2-2 result. So it’s all learning experiences. But I was happy with the response — able to go in at halftime and give more of what we asked for: the deep runs, the quicker transitions, the balls in behind the back line. You saw that create a lot of chances. Now it’s the finishing touch or the final decision that still needs to be right.
“But I was happy with the way we played, so that’s what I can take away from it. When we create chances like that, make those kinds of runs, and those kinds of actions toward goal — the goals will come.”
On the GA Cup
With the upcoming GA Cup, Richter discussed some potential roster depth challenges the team may face.
“It’s an important event for the academy and for the players. It’s a great platform for them to show themselves and compete against the best players in our country,” Richter said. “If you look at what most clubs do, they send a lot of the kids involved in their second teams around MLS. They send them to GA Cup.
“So we’ll support our guys joining the tournament. We’re not saying we’re prioritizing it over Union II, but we want them to be fully integrated, ready to contribute, and show their best while they’re there.”
It remains to be seen how the roster will shape up for Thursday night’s match.
On Squad Health
With Eddy Davis missing the last match, Richter provided an update on the squad’s health:
“He’s back fit. Everyone out of our available group is ready to go. So we’re all good for the game tomorrow.”
Expect Stas, Markus, Eddy, and Sal to be available for Thursday.
On Nick Pariano
I asked Richter to assess team captain Nick Pariano’s play through the first three games, where he has played at both a midfielder and back, and what he needs to do to take his play to the next level:
On Atlanta United 2
Brennan, Neri, and Tablante have contributed to six of Atlanta United 2’s seven goals this season. Richter shared his thoughts on what makes them so dangerous in the attack:
“They’re good players. That’s what it comes down to. Tablante is very dynamic and delivers quality from the left side with his left foot. Brennan, as well, cuts in from the right with his right foot and plays into that pocket.
“Both have quality in the final action, and they’re dangerous. The way Atlanta play, they isolate these guys a lot and get them into 1v1 opportunities. When they get around goal, they’re not afraid to shoot from distance.
“As a team, they put a lot of balls in the box from wide areas. They’re dangerous, and they get into dangerous positions because they have quality attackers.”
Final Thoughts
To close, Richter shared his final thoughts heading into this week’s match:
“No defender likes to defend with the ball in behind them. They like it when you’re in front of them with the ball at your feet. So we want to keep building on that and stay dangerous.
“We gave the guys a couple of key points as we prepare — what to expect with the ball, without the ball, and in transition. We’re building off some of the things from the Huntsville game. We believe this will be a similar type of opportunity.
“If we can get behind their back line with deep diagonal runs, we can create chances. It’s about having the patience to find the right moment, get the right weight on the pass, and make sure it’s not too straight, so the goalkeeper can’t easily come off his line.
“Sometimes it’s also about making the selfless run — even if you don’t get the ball, it forces the back line to drop and creates space underneath for our midfielders.
Philadelphia Union II face off against Atlanta United 2 on Thursday, April 10 at 7:00 PM at Subaru Park, and will air on AppleTV/MLS Season Pass.
Kyle Almoney contributed to this article.
Main photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II
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