Union Takeaways: Damion Lowe steps up to help the Union get an ugly rivalry win

HARRISON, N.J. — Here are our day-after takeaways on the Union’s 1-0 win at the rival New York Red Bulls, in which the Union were outshot 19-3 but held on after Dániel Gazdag’s penalty kick goal in the 31st minute.

Damion Lowe. This was his first start since April 5, due in part to a couple of small injuries picked up in recent weeks. It happened to come against a longtime friend, Cory Burke, a colleague of Lowe’s and Andre Blake’s on Jamaica’s national team. And Burke was extra motivated because it was his first game against the Union since moving north as a free agent in the winter.

Although Lowe completed just 12 of 33 passes, the rest of his game was great: 55 touches, four tackles, four clearances, two blocks, one interception, 10 defensive recoveries, and 15 duels won out of 23 contested. Burke got six shots, but only one was especially dangerous: a header in the 73rd minute that sailed wide.

» READ MORE: Behind Daniel Gazdag’s penalty kick, the Union win an ugly outing, 1-0, against the New York Red Bulls

3: The number of shots the Union took in the game. One was Dániel Gazdag’s penalty kick, one was Nathan Harriel’s close range attempt after receiving Kai Wagner’s smart free kick in the 57th minute, and one was a header by Lowe that flew wide off the ensuing corner kick.

The Union’s expected-goals sum in the game was 1.07. The sum from open play specifically — excluding the penalty kick, free kicks, and corner kicks — was a grand total of 0.00.

11: The number of defensive recoveries by Leon Flach, who had a lot to do against a five-man Red Bulls midfield.

“It was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen of the season, but it’s also testament to the players because they knew that was going to be a night where you have to roll your sleeves up and fight. … I like 1-0 wins, as you guys have heard me say before. It’s an important three points, and we can share this one and celebrate it with the fans.”

— Union manager Jim Curtin assesses his team’s performance.

“I’ve known Cory for years, so it was nothing new. I know how to play against him. It’s always going to be a battle. He’s a no nonsense guy; he’s always going to put his all on the line for his team, and he did that today. I think today I managed him pretty well. I could say it was a tie in the battle, but he didn’t score — so I guess I get the upper hand.”

— Lowe on playing against Burke.

» READ MORE: Union analysis: Jim Curtin promises he’ll rotate the lineup more, but will he actually do it this time?

San Jose Earthquakes 2, Los Angeles FC 1. Somebody in MLS finally beat LAFC this year, but it wasn’t the Union. In front of 45,112 fans at the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, Cristian Espinoza scored both goals for a San Jose team that has been exceeding expectations.

The Earthquakes now sit in fourth place in the Western Conference, and Espinoza is in a three-way tie atop the league scoring chart with L.A.’s Dénis Bouanga and Seattle’s Jordan Morris.

The Union turn to the U.S. Open Cup, entering in the round of 32. Most MLS teams enter in the round of 64, but the top eight from the previous year get one-round byes. Unfortunately, the Union got drawn with a road game at Minnesota United instead of a matchup anywhere closer.

The good news is that Tuesday’s 8:30 p.m. kickoff will be free to watch on YouTube via Bleacher Report. Open Cup broadcast rights are packaged with U.S. national team rights because the U.S. Soccer Federation runs the competition, so WBD Sports — which owns TNT, TBS, HBO Max and Bleacher Report — is in charge.

Putting games on YouTube gets a wider audience than HBO Max, the subscription streaming platform that has national team games. The broadcast will be produced by U.S. Soccer, as most Open Cup broadcasts are, so the announcers will likely be different from the ones who call MLS games.

After Tuesday, the Union return to regular-season play with a visit to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday (9:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled).

» READ MORE: Union takeaways: Jim Curtin was too conservative at LAFC, and he was outcoached