Union win against Chicago Fire, but lose Andre Blake to injury

Newly acquired midfielder Joaquín Torres was the Union’s star of the night against the Chicago Fire, lending a pivotal hand in securing three points at Subaru Park. Torres replaced Danish striker Mikael Uhre in the second half of a scrappy, card-ridden match that saw the Union’s attack struggle to produce or find shots on target.

Pushing relentlessly toward goal in the final minutes of waning hope, Torres tucked a 90th-minute ball to the right corner of the net, sealing a 1-0 victory.

Manager Jim Curtin’s squad will relish the hard-fought victory after falling to Inter Miami last weekend and drawing Alianza FC in El Salvador on Tuesday.

“I think Joaquin stepped up in a big way for us tonight to get that goal,” Curtin said.

» READ MORE: Union takeaways: It’s fine that a dog on the field was the highlight of a scoreless tie

The first half ended with a combined foul count just shy of 20, split between the Union and Fire. With frequent stops and notable injuries, a whopping 9 minutes of stoppage elongated a painstaking first 45. Comically, those 9 minutes began with a tense altercation between Union firebrand José Andrés Martínez and the Fire’s Fabian Herbers. The quarrel was punctuated by a forehead-to-forehead square-off and yellow cards for both.

The second half continued apace and then Herbers received a second yellow and was sent off, despite emphatic protest from former Union man Kacper Przybylko.

The Union played the majority of the second half against 10 men as Chicago compacted its defense and continued to abate the Union attack and stymie progress toward a goal. Fouls and cards continued well into stoppage time of the second half as well. The match ended with 11 yellow cards doled out, including one apiece to the Union’s Alejandro Bedoya, Martinez, and Quinn Sullivan.

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The Union came away with the three points, but they lost Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake in the process. Blake briefly attempted to play through injury picked up early in the first half while making a save. And though he managed to deliver one last big save while limping in visible pain, Blake required a replacement in the 33rd minute.

Joe Bendik was sent in to cover, having made the match-day roster for the first time since the trade of former Union backup Matt Freese. Filling big shoes on a cold, chaotic night in Chester, Bendik came up with a few big plays of his own and kept a clean sheet.

Curtin indicated Blake’s injury is a groin injury and though the goalkeeper’s status remains unclear, the manager noted these injuries can take time to heal.

“He’ll get an MRI,”Curtin said. “But with a groin injury, I always fear the worst, you know? So, again, Andre has been a quick healer in the past. I don’t want to speculate too much.”

The Union are playing in a cramped month of matches straddling multiple competitions. The squad returned to Subaru Park after a road trip that saw some heavy rotation for the Champions League. With CCL competition looming once more on Tuesday (a must-win in order to advance) speculation centered around whether Curtin might rest his go-to guys. He did not. Instead, Curtin prioritized the early-season points coming off last weekend’s loss, running out his first choice XI against the Fire.

It paid off in the tight victory. And though substitutions came in the 60th minute for Uhre (Torres) and Leon Flach (Jack McGlynn), and the 83rd for Olivier Mbaizo (Sullivan), the Union will now greet Alianza FC on Tuesday with tired legs and most likely, a missing starting goalkeeper.

Curtin commented, “The Champions League did not cross my mind for one second tonight. It’s about beating Chicago.”

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