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Union's unexplosive offense due to lack of chemistry

Sometimes a team can be blinded by fool's gold, a possibility the Union have to consider. Their record is 4-2-2, better than many anticipated for this second-year Major League Soccer franchise. But the Union must make much improvement if they expect to compete in the postseason.

Danny Mwanga brought a spark to the Union's offense as a substitute in Wednesday's game. (AP file photo)
Danny Mwanga brought a spark to the Union's offense as a substitute in Wednesday's game. (AP file photo)Read more

Sometimes a team can be blinded by fool's gold, a possibility the Union have to consider. Their record is 4-2-2, better than many anticipated for this second-year Major League Soccer franchise. But the Union must make much improvement if they expect to compete in the postseason.

Just as the Phillies have won so many games despite frequent missteps on offense, the Union are walking a dangerous line: barely doing enough to win or not to lose.

Consider that they have six goals in eight games and, incredibly, have not scored more than one goal in any game.

Even last year during an 8-15-7 season, the Union scored 10 goals in their first eight games, and six of them were on the road because PPL Park wasn't available. This season, five of the first eight games have been at home, a major advantage for the Union because of the outstanding fan support they receive.

Newcomer Carlos Ruiz has a team-high two goals, but the 31-year-old forward doesn't move very well. He's creative when the ball is at his feet, but getting it there is the problem.

Ruiz has been the target up top. Meanwhile, Sebastien Le Toux and Danny Mwanga, who worked so well together and combined for 21 goals last year, haven't enjoyed the same chemistry.

It isn't all Ruiz's fault, but the fact remains that the chemistry among the three isn't there yet.

"It's hard to align Carlos, Danny, and Sebastien," Union assistant coach John Hackworth said following Wednesday's 1-1 draw with the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy.

There is no doubt that Mwanga, who was inserted to begin the second half, brought energy to the offense, scoring his first goal in the 84th minute.

It's the second time this season he has come off the bench and added a major spark. In a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls, Mwanga entered the game in the 59th minute and had the assist on Roger Torres' goal.

While the Union have been patient in developing Mwanga, he needs to be on the field more. He has started only four of the eight games, and after being the first overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, he has been expected to deliver more.

The coaching staff has often said that it doesn't want to put young players in a position of failing. But it's time to take the restrictions off Mwanga, who will turn 20 in July.

Hackworth, who coached the Union because team manager Peter Nowak was in his native Poland participating in a charity soccer game, said he had a good feeling before putting Mwanga into Wednesday's game.

"I told him he was going to get one, and he came on and had a lot of confidence," Hackworth said. "When he is like that, he is as good as anybody in this league."

Precisely.

Which is why he should be on the field more.

The same could be said of 18-year-old Jack McInerney, who wasn't inserted until the 80th minute. McInerney had one dangerous shot on goal, and he was in a position for a header that he didn't get much on, but he still was buzzing around the goal.

This season, McInerney, who missed one game because of a red card, has appeared in only four games, a total of 62 minutes.

Yet when he is on the field, he makes things happen. Could he play at such a frenetic pace for 90 minutes? Probably not, but with an offense that is struggling, it wouldn't hurt to give him more playing time and see what he can do.

"It's tough coming in late and playing only 12 minutes, but I felt it was good to be able to create opportunities and help the team," McInerney said.

The same is the case for Torres, who might be the most creative offensive player on the team. The 19-year-old has appeared in six games but played just 154 minutes. At 5-foot-5 and 140 pounds, he likely couldn't play full games on a steady basis, but he does warrant more minutes.

It's great for the Union's depth that these young players can bail them out. But it may be time to put them on the field more, and then maybe the team won't need these late comeback efforts.

Charges in attack on Celtic coach

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell on Thursday condemned the "vile, sustained, and relentless attacks" on his club.

On Thursday, the same day a man appeared in court charged with assaulting manager Neil Lennon during a match, a bullet was found in mail addressed to the coach.

On Wednesday, Lennon was attacked by John Wilson, who came out of the stands during a 3-0 win at Hearts in Edinburgh. Wilson was charged under Scotland's anti-sectarian laws with assault and breach of the peace, both aggravated by religious prejudice. He made no plea.

While Celtic is traditionally supported by Irish Catholics, Glasgow rival Rangers and Hearts, based in Edinburgh, are both mainly supported by Protestants.

Police also arrested two men on Thursday in connection with mail bombs sent to Lennon and two prominent supporters of the Glasgow club in March and April following an ill-tempered match between Celtic and Rangers.

The devices were intercepted before reaching their targets and never exploded.

Earlier this week, seven people were charged with possessing a fake firearm near Celtic's training facility.

Barcelona player faces racism charge

UEFA has charged Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets with racially insulting Real Madrid defender Marcelo during the Champions League semifinals.

UEFA said its disciplinary panel will hear the case Sunday in Nyon, Switzerland.

Busquets is alleged to have violated UEFA's discrimination rules "by directing racist abuse" toward Brazilian defender Marcelo, who is black. Marcelo said that Busquets called him a "monkey" during a rough first-leg match on April 27 in Madrid.

Barcelona won that game, 2-0, and then tied Real Madrid, 1-1, in Barcelona to advance to the final against Manchester United. Busquets could be suspended for the May 28 match at Wembley Stadium in London.

WPS penalizes magicJack

The South Florida-based magicJack has been docked a point in the standings and a draft pick by Women's Professional Soccer for not meeting league standards.

The league said Thursday that magicJack's violations included not providing game footage for other teams to scout. WPS had increased its discipline of the club over three weeks for problems such as not having a regulation-size field or sufficient stadium capacity and not managing the team website.

The club lost its third-round pick in the 2012 draft. It had already forfeited its fourth-round selection and been fined as earlier punishments. Future penalties could include losing the right to host a home playoff game.

Chivas USA's Mondaini suspended

Chivas USA midfielder Marcos Mondaini has been suspended for four games and fined $1,500 for a tackle last weekend that broke the left ankle of Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales.

Liverpool, Dalglish agree to 3-year deal

Kenny Dalglish signed a three-year contract as Liverpool manager, 20 years after ending a successful first spell in charge of the club. Dalglish took over for a second stint when he replaced the fired Roy Hodgson on a six-month deal on Jan. 8.