Union takeaways: José Andrés Martínez does more than expected in his return from injury

Here are our takeaways from the Union’s 3-2 win over Atlanta United on Wednesday at Subaru Park, a result that snapped a five-game run of ties and put the Union (15-8-9, 54 points) third in the Eastern Conference.

José Andrés Martínez. Union manager Jim Curtin had intended for him to return from injury with only around 30 minutes of action. But because of Jesús Bueno’s early injury, Martínez ended up playing 91: 78 minutes of regulation and 13 minutes of stoppage time.

Martínez didn’t just grit it out, he showed again why he’s one of the Union’s most important players. He had 49 touches, 26-of-32 passing (including seven passes into the attacking third), one tackle, one interception, 10 defensive recoveries, and 10 duels won out of 12 contested.

We’ll see how much he plays Saturday against Nashville (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled). After that, he’ll head to Venezuela’s national team for World Cup qualifiers. If he’s fully healthy going into the playoffs, that will give the Union a big boost — and the rest of the Eastern Conference a scare.

7: The number of games since Mikael Uhre’s last goal. Dániel Gazdag’s bicycle kick was the most viral moment and Julián Carranza’s tally capped off a great team play, but Uhre finally finding the net could have the biggest impact overall.

» READ MORE: Union snap tying streak as Dániel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre, and Julián Carranza score in win over Atlanta United

7: The number of tackles by Nathan Harriel in an unusual — but not unprecedented — start at left back. He also had three recoveries, two clearances, and one interception; won 10 of the 16 duels he contested; and completed 22 of 26 passes.

“I didn’t know I can.”

— Dániel Gazdag, asked how he pulled off his bicycle kick goal.

» READ MORE: Union midfielder Dániel Gazdag has all but perfected the penalty kick. We asked him his secret.

“Obviously, it feels great. I’ve been struggling a little bit with it. I’ve been a little bit unlucky, also. But yeah, it’s about just powering through it. All players are going to have tough spells, dry spells. But I have a great team around me. The team has been supporting me, Coach has been supporting me.”

— Uhre on snapping his scoring drought.

“Today, Alex Chilowicz — I have a bad memory, so I don’t have the right stats — but it feels like most of the times, we get controversial calls from him against us. It might be a coincidence, but my record [of memory] is that we lose more often with him than not. … If Jim Curtin talks about handballs before the game, [New England manager] Bruce Arena talks about handballs before the game, I’m going to do it every game, so then maybe I get the calls and the opponent doesn’t.”

— Atlanta manager Gonzalo Pineda was upset at the referee about the non-call of a handball against Harriel in the first half, and other matters from the game.

Orlando City 1, Nashville 0. Duncan McGuire’s 44th-minute goal was enough to secure a road win that took the Lions a long way toward clinching second in the East. They lead the Union by three points with two games to go, and have one more win — the first standings tiebreaker.

Mathematically, the Lions and Union can finish tied on points and wins. If that happens, the Union have a better goal difference right now (plus-17 to -plus-13), and would probably still have it in that scenario.

But Orlando has a much easier remaining schedule: home vs. New England on Saturday, then at last-in-the-league Toronto to close the regular season. The Union host Nashville, then visit New England.

» READ MORE: Andre Blake blasts MLS for having too many games, and calls for players to push for change

You just read it above, of course. Nashville’s visit will be the last home game of the regular season, then many of the Union’s players will finally get a weekend off during the October FIFA window. But plenty will be gone to national teams worldwide — potentially including some to a U.S. under-23 team camp to prepare for next year’s Olympics.

1. FC Cincinnati, 65 points (19-5-8, clinched first place and the Supporters’ Shield)

2. Orlando City, 57 (16-7-9)

3. Union, 54 (15-8-9)

4. Columbus Crew, 53 (15-9-8)

5. New England Revolution, 52 (14-7-10)

6. Atlanta United, 49 (13-9-10)

7. Nashville SC, 45 (12-10-9)

» READ MORE: It’s good that the Union are rotating their centerbacks, even if it’s for a bad reason