The Union’s top attacking trio is finally playing at a top level

It has undoubtedly taken longer than anyone at the Union wanted or expected. But finally, 20 games into the season, the Union have the attacking chemistry they hoped for when they signed Julián Carranza and Mikael Uhre to play in front of Dániel Gazdag.

The proof isn’t just the seven goals the Union scored against D.C. United, including three from Carranza and two from Uhre. It’s in the players’ combination plays with each other: Uhre’s runs into dangerous positions, Carranza’s movement on and off the ball, and Gazdag’s passing and positioning to collect second chances.

What took so long? Uhre’s hamstring issues that cost him seven games are the biggest factor, but it’s not just that.

Carranza has missed games because of a red card, yellow card accumulation, and his initial loan deal from Inter Miami that sidelined him from the Herons’ visit to Subaru Park in May.

Only Gazdag has played every game this year.

Add it all up, and the Union’s top trio has spent just 518 minutes on the field this year, over 10 games. They didn’t all start together until the sixth game of the season, and played just once together from the start of May until mid-June.

Then they played five straight games together from June 18 to July 9, their longest streak so far as a group. Wednesday’s 2-1 win at Miami snapped the run, with Carranza coming off the bench to sub in for Uhre.

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“You can’t stress enough the cohesiveness,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “I think we can be a team that scores two [or] three goals a game with those three attacking pieces on the field — with more cohesion in practice, maybe moving together a little better. And then when they do wear down a defense, you bring a [Chris] Donovan and a [Cory] Burke off the bench to change pace, and a [Paxten] Aaronson.”

The players have seen it, too.

“We felt confidence tonight,” Carranza said after the D.C. game. “We were pressing each person together, we were running for each other, we were moving to get the ball.”

They were talking a lot on the field, too, he added, and if you’re a youth soccer coach, you know the old adage that teams that talk a lot are often better than teams that don’t.

Will the Uhre-Carranza-Gazdag trio return to playing together in Saturday’s home game against New England (7:30 p.m., PHL17)? We’ll see, but don’t be surprised if they don’t. Due to the short turnaround after Wednesday, Curtin said Saturday’s squad “will show our depth for sure.”

Of course, he didn’t say exactly which players that would involve, because he always clams up when Bruce Arena is the opposing manager.

“We went through things today with a group that I think was fresh,” Curtin said of Friday’s practice. “Some guys got through it really well and are ready to go again, some we’ll assess and continue to assess and see how they wake up and feel tomorrow.”

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin is happy to have Julián Carranza for good, and for not much money

One player we know won’t play Saturday is Jack Elliott, who will miss a second straight game with knee trouble. Curtin hopes the veteran centerback will return for the team’s next game, July 23 at Orlando City.

“Still was on the side today,” Curtin said, “but he’s able to do some contact exercises, he’s able to cut, he’s able to strike the ball with both feet.”

Curtin hinted that Stuart Findlay will start in Elliott’s place, in what will be Findlay’s last game before leaving the team to return to Europe.

“I have no doubt that he’ll go on and have an incredible career, and the door will always be open here — whether it’s to come back to the city, to come back to see a game, whatever it might be,” Curtin said. “We want to have one more great performance from him. It’s going to be against a tough team in New England, but that’s a team that he’s familiar with and has played against in the past.”