Mikael Uhre and Dániel Gazdag lead the Union to a 2-0 win at the New York Red Bulls

HARRISON, N.J. — Second-half goals from Mikael Uhre and Dániel Gazdag fired the Union to a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night. It was the fourth straight win and 10th in 12 games for the first-place Union (17-4-9, 60 points), and their ninth straight game against the Red Bulls (13-9-8, 47 points) without a loss.

The result also set or furthered Union records for the most wins in a season (17), wins on the road (seven), standing points (60), goals scored (63), and shutouts (13), with four games still left in the campaign.

Here are some observations on the victory.

So much for all that talk about Union manager Jim Curtin not rotating his starting lineup. He made four swaps: Cory Burke at striker, Jack McGlynn and Matt Real in midfield, and Nathan Harriel at right back. Out went Julián Carranza, Alejandro Bedoya, José Andrés Martínez, and Olivier Mbaizo.

Leon Flach took Martínez’s place at the bottom of the diamond, after Martínez said a few hours before the game that a nagging rib injury was too much to bear. McGlynn unusually started on the right side for Bedoya, and Real slotted in on the left for his first start since May 2 of last year.

All four usual starters were on the bench, and two of them ended up playing: Carranza and Bedoya, who entered the game in the 58th minute.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin defends not rotating the Union’s lineup ahead of visiting the Red Bulls

Curtin started both of his big strikers, Burke and Uhre, for the first time since July 13 and just the second overall. If it was to help try to get over the top of New York’s defense, it didn’t work. The Union did not register a shot until the last minute of the first half, when a loose ball fell to Real at the top of the 18-yard box.

The team as a whole completed just 99 of 165 passes in the first half, a 60% accuracy rate, as New York’s 3-4-2-1 formation and high press jammed up the works.

But it didn’t take long in the second half for the Union to break through.

» READ MORE: The Union’s best creator of scoring chances this year is a left back. Yes, really.

Uhre’s goal was set up from a breathtaking run by McGlynn. He cut across the field from the left side, flicking the ball over John Tolkin along the way, then slipped the ball between an onrushing Tolkin and a backtracking Aaron Long for Uhre to run on to.

Uhre had Sean Nealis just about draped on his back, but held him off and slid a shot toward Carlos Coronel’s far post. The finish drew a roar from the hundreds of Union fans in the stands, not just in the visiting fans’ section upstairs, but all over the lower deck too. It looked and sounded like the most Union fans to make the trip north for a game here.

The Union have a new all-time top scorer across all competitions in a year. Gazdag put his name in the team’s history books once again with his 18th tally of 2022, with some help from his fellow stars.

Carranza picked Nealis’ pocket and passed the ball forward to Uhre, who played a sublime first-touch flick back to Carranza. He sent Gazdag streaking into the left side of New York’s 18-yard box, and the Hungarian steered the ball past Kyle Duncan and Coronel.

» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag might not be the Union’s most valuable player, but he is the most outstanding

Andre Blake made two sensational saves in the game, one of which in the second half was so good that even the Red Bulls’ Twitter account gave it a salute.

“...sometimes you just have to tip your cap to Andre Blake...” the admin wrote.

Union fans, meanwhile, serenaded Blake with “M-V-P!” chants after the saves and after the final whistle.

U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart, who had the same job with the Union from 2015-18, watched the game from a suite.

His focus presumably was on Long, the Red Bulls centerback who’s a candidate to be on the American men’s World Cup squad this fall. But Stewart also got to watch McGlynn, a strong candidate to be on the 2024 Olympic team.

Paxten Aaronson, Quinn Sullivan, and Brandan Craig also will be in the race if they keep developing well with the Union.

» READ MORE: The Union's young prospects starred for the U.S. national team in Olympics qualifying