Dániel Gazdag’s 10th goal of the year gives the Union a 1-0 win at Orlando City

The Union edged Orlando City, 1-0, on Saturday night in a game that was fractious and ugly but ultimately a victory.

Dániel Gazdag scored off a corner kick play in the 39th minute, and the team held on through a pile of fouls, cards, and substitutions — including a potential concussion suffered by Cory Burke late in the second half, and a video review for a potential Orlando penalty kick in stoppage time.

It was the fourth straight win for the Union (11-2-9, 42 points), and kept them in first place ahead of a New York City team that has a game in hand.

Here are some observations on a night when the clock ran for 106 minutes, once everything was tallied up.

The offside call that got overturned was as close as you’ll see on a video review. Major League Soccer’s replay center had to slow the footage way down to see exactly when Jakob Glesnes headed Kai Wagner’s corner toward Gazdag, in order to confirm whether Gazdag was offside.

Unfortunately for fans watching at home, the TV broadcast didn’t help. Usually there’s a brief simulcast of what the officials are watching, but this time there wasn’t. The broadcast also didn’t do a great job of freezing the frame at the right moments.

But the officials found what they were looking for, which is that Gazdag was even with Orlando’s Ruan. Referee Alex Chilowicz saw it while he was at the monitor, and gave the goal.

It was Gazdag’s 10th tally of the year, making him the first midfielder in Union history to hit double digits in scoring in a regular season. All eight of the other Union players who scored 10 league goals in a year were forwards: Sébastien Le Toux (2010, ‘11 and ‘14), Jack McInerney (’13), Conor Casey (’13), Chris Pontius (’16), C.J. Sapong (’17), Burke (’18), Fafà Picault (’18), and Kacper Przybylko (’19 and ‘21).

With Alejandro Bedoya suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Jack McGlynn started in the captain’s place on the right side of midfield. It was McGlynn’s second straight start, with both due to unusual circumstances — a short turnaround between games last time.

McGlynn finished the night with 55 touches, 40-of-45 passing, 11 recoveries, one shot, one clearance, and one interception.

The 19-year-old isn’t quite a natural fit on the right side of the diamond, because he’s left-footed. Quinn Sullivan is more accustomed to the role, but as his time with the U.S. under-20 team showed, he’s better in a farther-forward position. Union manager Jim Curtin said on Thursday Gazdag and Leon Flach can also fill in there if necessary, depending on matchups.

Curtin also said something offhand that might be closest to the long-term truth: when Bedoya isn’t playing, the Union might not play a diamond. Instead, they could deploy a box shape, with two attacking midfielders in front of two defensive midfielders. Pick two of Paxten Aaronson,Gazdag, and Sullivan for the front row, and two of Flach, José Andrés Martínez and McGlynn for the back row.

The Union’s reserve team plays that way often, and we might soon see it from the top squad.

» READ MORE: Alejandro Bedoya is having a renaissance with the Union at age 35

Curtin acknowledged on Thursday that his alternating Nathan Harriel and Olivier Mbaizo at right back hasn’t just been to keep them fresh. Mbaizo has been playing the road games, Curtin said, “because Olivier has a little more experience and has played in those types of games.”

That proved the case again in Orlando, as Mbaizo got the start. The Cameroonian had 44 touches, one clearance and three recoveries, won four of eight duels, created one chance, and completed 24 of 25 passes.

Harriel should return to the starting lineup for next Saturday’s game at home against Houston.

“Great, healthy competition,” Curtin said. “Nate’s given us a ton of good minutes, but it needs to be said Olivier has come in and pushed too. That’s a coach’s dream, when you have two really good guys at that position.”

Martínez won’t play against Houston because he’ll be suspended due to yellow card accumulation for the second time this season. He was booked in just the eighth minute Saturday for grabbing Orlando’s Facundo Torres. Fortunately, he wasn’t booked again; unfortunately, he took an injury to what looked like the rib cage in the second half and was subbed out in the 68th minute.

(Aaronson came in for Martínez, producing a midfield that hints at the aforementioned box: Flach, McGlynn, Gazdag and Aaronson.)

Saturday will be the third game overall this year that Martínez has missed because of disciplinary matters: May 19 vs. Miami because of yellow card accumulation, July 4 at Columbus because of a red card (which came from two yellows), and this one.

Major League Soccer’s rulebook doesn’t look fondly on repeat offenders. The first suspension comes after five yellow cards, then the second and third come after three each. Then the threshold drops to two each, with escalating fines along the way. (This only applies to league games, not U.S. Open Cup or Concacaf Champions League games.)

There’s also a good behavior incentive when a player goes five league games without a booking. Martínez hasn’t achieved that since last August.

» READ MORE: It’s surprising that Kai Wagner is still with the Union, but it also isn’t