Union can gain from giving Conor Casey more minutes

Those who predict doom for the Union should take a deep breath. This is a long Major League Soccer season, one that lasts well beyond the World Series.

Still, it had to be a little troubling that last week's opening 3-1 loss to visiting Sporting Kansas City had the same earmarks as many of last season's defeats.

The Union controlled play for much of the match but suffered a lapse here and there, which meant a goal for KC here and there.

If the game wasn't bad enough for team manager John Hackworth to watch live, he tortured himself this week in the video room.

"I probably never watched a game as many times back," Hackworth said at his weekly news conference.

And he probably never enjoyed watching a game less.

"One thing that has me a little baffled is we played so good for 40 minutes, and one moment in the first half we let our guard down and got punished," he said.

Kansas City's Graham Zusi did the punishing, scoring on a rebound in the 41st minute. Teams tend to inflict punishment when an opponent falls asleep.

The one trap the Union can't fall into is blaming lapses on their youth. First of all, these young players all have had at least a year in the MLS, being challenged under game conditions.

One way to give an unproven offense a boost is to use a proven finisher, and all signs point to Conor Casey's seeing his first significant action in Saturday's game at Colorado against the Rapids.

Casey was acquired from Colorado in the offseason and is the Rapids' all-time leading scorer with 50 career goals. He played just six minutes in the opener, and Hackworth strongly hinted he would see more time.

"There is no better motivation than a player going back to his home club and trying to make sure he puts a little salt in the wounds," Hackworth said.

That would mean putting the ball in the back of the net, something the Union still have trouble doing.

Enter Casey.

"For Conor it would be a great opportunity, and there is a great possibility for us to do it," Hackworth said.

So a team in need of an offensive spark should get one.

By the way, Casey is 31. Nobody can pin any mistakes on his being young. His younger teammates shouldn't get a pass either.