Inside the Union: Union seek to bounce back against Columbus
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Union team manager John Hackworth insists that regardless of the result during Saturday's difficult Major League Soccer match at Columbus against the Crew, that there will be no shortage of confidence.
The Union are hoping to avoid their first losing streak of this young season.
The team was feeling good about itself until losing on Saturday against the host New York Red Bulls, 2-1. That was New York's first win of the season, and from the looks of it the Red Bulls should win many more as long as the they stay healthy.
But it's the Union (2-2) who are looking to bounce back against a talented Columbus team (2-1-1).
"The last thing we want is to go on a two-game losing streak and come back and have to rebuild the positive momentum," Hackworth said.
That sounds like a team that doesn't want to see the confidence drifting, but Hackworth disputes that notion.
"That is not an issue for us at all," Hackworth said. "From the inside we know what we are. From the outside there are questions of how good we are, what we are good at. But we understand our strengths and weaknesses."
Those questions from the outside will continue for a while, and there probably are some inside as well.
It says here the Union haven't reached the stage where they don't question their ability to win, especially in difficult venues such as Crew Stadium against a quality opponent.
Either way, the Union could use a boost, and it could come in the form of Brazilian midfielder Kléberson, who has been practicing with the team.
As coaches prefer to not give out information to the opposition, Hackworth wouldn't say whether the 33-year-old midfielder would play his first game with the franchise this week. He then went out of his way to praise the newcomer.
"His quality is evident the moment he steps on the field," Hackworth said.
Then Hackworth pointed out a flaw in the midfield, one that Kléberson could help remedy.
"We feel our midfield needs to do a better job of possession," Hackworth said.
A midfielder who is superb possessing the ball, Kléberson is playing for a midfield that needs to do a better job of keeping the ball from the opponent.
The Union might have the utmost confidence in their ability, but they are still determining by their play whether they are capable of being playoff contenders.
Regardless of what the team manager says, the confidence meter would spike if the Union could somehow manage to leave Columbus with a positive result.
Contact Marc Narducci at mnarducci@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @sjnard.
