Union clinch playoff spot after rallying late for a 2-2 draw in Charlotte

It wasn’t the way anyone at the Union would have drawn it up, but a come-from-behind 2-2 tie at Charlotte FC Wednesday plus results elsewhere in MLS clinched the team a playoff spot.

After a scoreless first half, Charlotte’s Justin Meram and Karol Świderski put the Union in a 2-0 hole early in the second half – the second straight game where the Union conceded twice soon after intermission.

But this time, the Union (14-8-6, 48 points) were on the comeback side of things. Substitute Quinn Sullivan halved the deficit in the 70th minute, and Dániel Gazdag leveled the score in the 97th — the last minute of the initially-set stoppage time — with yet another penalty kick.

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It wasn’t a surprise that the Union went back to a 4-4-2, between Jack Elliott’s absence and the inconsistency of the 3-5-2 over the last two games. Nor was it a surprising that Damion Lowe started next to Jakob Glesnes at centerback.

But it was quite surprising to see Tai Baribo and Chris Donovan as the starting strikers. It was Baribo’s first start after three second-half substitute appearances, including in the Union’s last two games. It was Donovan’s sixth start of the year, and his first since the Leagues Cup semifinal.

Also of note, Jesús Bueno started on the left side of midfield instead of Jack McGlynn. That was a sign McGlynn was being rested for Saturday’s home game against Los Angeles FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, free).

With last year’s 4-0 loss in Charlotte (7-9-12, 33 points) very much on the mind, Union manager Jim Curtin probably wasn’t thrilled that while the first half was scoreless, it was pretty open. The Union took seven shots to Charlotte’s six, with shots on target three apiece.

Baribo had two attempts and Donovan three, which matched the most he’s taken in a game for the Union’s first team. One of Donovan’s early attempts hit an unmarked post, though you wouldn’t call it a shot: an Adilson Malanda attempt to head out a Kai Wagner corner hit Donovan’s head instead, and flew back toward the net. Alas for the Union, their luck on the play stopped there.

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There were two key Union mistakes on Charlotte’s opening goal in the 55th minute. First, no one stepped to Świderski as he made a run into the 18-yard box from a dangerous part of midifeld. Second, though Lowe got to a loose ball as it pinged around, Alejandro Bedoya misplayed Lowe’s pass out and gave a wide-open Meram the chance to pounce.

Curtin immediately sent in Mikael Uhre and Julián Carranza for Donovan and Baribo, having ridden the starting duo for as long as he could get away with. But things only got worse from there, as Świderskii scored Charlotte’s second goal in the 61st.

Ben Bender and Brandt Bronico set it up with a combination on the right side. Bronico then evaded Lowe’s pretty good tackle attempt and chipped to the center, while Świderski darted in front of Glesnes and Andre Blake to the near post. It was a nice bit of work by Świderski, one of Charlotte’s top players, but it wasn’t a great look for Glesnes to be beaten like that.

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Curtin made another double substitution after that, sending in Sullivan and McGlynn for Bedoya and José Andrés Martínez. Bueno moved back to Martínez’s defensive midfield spot.

At that point, it was easy to think the Union were heading back down the same path that swallowed them up last season. Sullivan came to the rescue, though, with a terrific first-time shot after Carranza teed him up from the right flank.

Gazdag’s penalty kick came after Brecht Dejaegere clattered over Olivier Mbaizo on a surge into the box, from a nice overlapping play with Sullivan. It wasn’t just a really dumb foul, it was pretty vicious.

Mbaizo stayed down suffering for a while, but when the time came, Gazdag made no mistake, burying his 20th goal of the year in all competitions. As unusual as it is that so many of them have been penalty kicks, the Hungarian’s proficiency from the spot is quite remarkable. He’s now 18-for-18 in non-shootout attempts this year, including 11-for-11 in the regular season.

As happens every game day at this time of year, MLS headquarters sent out a press release Wednesday afternoon detailing all the league’s playoff clinching scenarios. The Union were featured for the first time, and their portion started simply enough: win and in.

There was a way in with a tie, too, if the Chicago Fire lost or tied at the Columbus Crew and D.C. United lost or tied vs. Atlanta United. To no surprise, the Crew ran a woeful Fire squad off the field, 3-0, with Juan “Cucho” Hernández bagging a hat trick in the first 23 minutes. D.C. then held on for a 1-1 tie against Atlanta.

A thank-you note for each result felt in order, but perhaps with a hint of wariness toward Columbus. The Union and Crew (14-9-6) are tied on points in the East, with Columbus edging third place on the second tiebreaker of goal difference (+19 to +16). The teams have a big meeting in Columbus on Sept. 30, and four days later Atlanta visits Subaru Park.

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