Union Takeaways: Julián Carranza’s first goal vs. Columbus was as special as his second

Here’s our morning-after look back at the Union’s 4-1 win over Columbus on Saturday night at Subaru Park.

Julian Carranza. Joaquín Torres’ brilliant spins to set up his fellow Argentine’s second goal of the night will get the most attention, but Carranza’s contribution to that play was not small.

Actually, in a way, it was small: He touched the ball exactly once, when he shot it. In every other way, though, it was elite. When the play started, Carranza was on the left side of the field. As Torres made those spins, Carranza ran across the field through a pocket of space between Philip Quinton — whom Torres had just dismissed — and Miloš Degenek.

Quinton realized Carranza was on the move, and retreated his way. That left Torres with ample space and time to zip a pass past Darlington Nagbe, Quinton and Degenek in that order. The ball was played so well that as Carranza ran to it, he didn’t have to touch it until he was ready to roll his shot under Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.

» READ MORE: Union win opener 4-1 over Columbus with goals from Julián Carranza and Dániel Gazdag

Carranza’s first goal deserves a spotlight too, because the finish was really something: An off-balance flick with the outside of his left foot that put Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte on his rear.

All in all for the game, Carranza totaled 39 touches, five shots, and 17-of-21 passing. And that doesn’t count his wide-open shot off an empty net’s post in the first half, which was waved off for offside.

The theme of the night was whether the Union would play a game that responded to the anonymous GM who bashed the team’s playing style to The Athletic. Carranza is one of the players with the skill to give the best kind of answer. The Union grind rather than play pretty soccer, but they can do it. And when they do, they can look very good doing it.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin embraces unprecedented expectations on the Union, and on himself

31-of-38. That’s Alejandro Bedoya’s passing total in the game. The top two recipients of his completions were Carranza (nine, including an assist on Carranza’s first goal) and Dániel Gazdag (six).

4. Leon Flach’s tally of interceptions.

“First of all, anonymous quotes are for cowards. And people are very brave when they make anonymous quotes. I went through all the people that it possibly could have been, and there’s, like, two or three that it would come off as a loving quote [from], and kind of an appreciative quote, that it could possibly be. There’s a couple that if it’s them, I’d love to find out who said it.

We did use it in the film session yesterday. I reminded the guys, yes, everybody’s in love with us right now and picking us to win the Eastern Conference. But championships aren’t won on paper. Paper means nothing.

We still have a doubter out there in whoever made that quote. It always motivates the guys. But again, I will go on record saying people that give anonymous quotes are cowards.”

— Jim Curtin on the anonymous quotes in The Athletic

“There will always be people talking, people trying to bring you down. I don’t really mind. People can talk as much as they want. The thing that we focus on, and I focus on, is what we do and what we’re good at. And when we do it good, we’re pretty damn good at it. So it’s about keeping doing it.”

— Mikael Uhre on the same subject

» READ MORE: Mikael Uhre aims for a 20-goal season in his second year with the Union

St. Louis City SC’s 3-2 win at Austin FC. MLS’s newest expansion team didn’t just win its inaugural game, it shocked one of the league’s best squads.

St. Louis scored first, then went down 2-1 thanks in part to a stupendous chip by Austin star Sebastián Driussi. But the visitors mounted a stunning comeback, capped off by DP forward João Klauss’s 86th-minute winning goal.

A hat tip to the guy who assisted Klauss, too: former U.S. national team forward Nicholas Gioacchini. If he plays well in MLS, the former tag might come off down the road. He’s still just 22 years old.

The Union visit Inter Miami on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first weekend where Apple’s paywall will be up, but this will be one of the six free games on the night.

Miami started its season with a 2-0 win over CF Montréal on Saturday. The second goal was scored by former Union academy prospect Shanyder Borgelin, who grew up in south Florida and signed with his hometown team as part of the deal that brought Damion Lowe here.

» READ MORE: How to watch Union games in the new Apple MLS Season Pass streaming package