Union

The Union website has a piece in which Peter Nowak elaborates on his frustration with Wednesday night’s referee. It is an interesting read but, in terms the team’s mental and physical state ahead of Saturday’s match against the Energy Drinks, the important quote is at the end of the article. “The spirit is great,” said Nowak. “Even going 120 minutes, there were no cramps whatsoever, so we feel good. The mental spirit is the most important thing for me. The physical part is never an issue for this team.”

Of further interest to those who are hoping for some changes in the Union midfield, Nowak says in the above article that the only reason Stefani Miglioranzi didn’t play against DC was because he wasn’t feeling well.

The Union tweeted this on Thursday evening: “Nowak: ‘Justin [Mapp] is ready to go [Saturday vs. NY].'”

The PSP match preview is now available. The predicted result is a qualified one.

In the head-to-head preview at Goal.com, the predictions are split. The Philly guy thinks the Union will win 1–0, the New York guy thinks the Energy Drinks will win by the same score.

ASN Philly previews the match.

Danny Califf on how the Union match up with the Energy Drinks, “On paper, we might not have the names that those guys have. But I think we’re as good a team. We have as good a group of guys as far as what defines a team—being well-rounded and having a lot of heart. And we also have good soccer players. I think we match up with just about anyone in the league, regardless of what names are on their roster…Philly’s a very blue-collar city and I think they like the hard work and appreciate guys and teams that maybe aren’t the most flashy or don’t have the biggest names, but put the work in and are not afraid to make a tackle and not afraid to be physical. All of those things we are. We play well to the values that Philly fans like in their teams…I think it’s better to have a group of guys that maybe on paper isn’t as talented but you know what you’re going to get and you know they’re going to put their heart and soul into everything. When you line up for a fight, you want a group of guys you can count on to have your back. So I’ll take my group any day of the week.”

With only four games in the books, Kerith Gabriel rightly tells Union supporters not to panic. Yet.

The Union need Danny Mwanga to find his form. This piece at Philly.com notes that Mwanga didn’t score his first goal of last season until the seventh game.

Jack McInerney’s family is making the trip up from Atlanta for Saturday’s game even though he is suspended as a result of the red card he received against LA. McInerney explains he knew he was going to get a card when he expressed his displeasure to the Galaxy’s Chad Barrett for the dirty tackle but was surprised it was red.

In the current edition of the MLS ExtraTime Radio podcast, Sons of Ben capo Corey Furlan battles it out with an Energy Drinks supporter. The exchange starts around the 14:30 mark.

Kerith Gabriel’s Union roundup also contains news about the club’s summer friendlies schedule. Nick Sackiewicz says we can expect an announcement in “30 days or so.” Peter Nowak says in the section about summer friendlies, “Our focus for friendlies are that we are also trying to establish long-term relationships with teams, we don’t want to play a game and then that’s it. As we continue to try and integrate our youth system, it’s important to have teams where we can send our younger players for development.”

Don’t forget the first Reserve League match for the Union will take place on Sunday against the Energy Drinks reserves. Kickoff is at 10am at Robert Urban Field of Dreams.

New York Red Bulls Watch

John Hackworth tells the Inquirer, “Everybody is going to see a bit of a new-look Red Bulls team on Saturday because of De Rosario, and you saw a little bit of it in the second half against Houston. He brings something different to their team.”

Energy Drinks manager Hans Backe is not concerned about Thierry Handball’s struggles to find the net. “It’s more perhaps the midfield and the strikers have to get the understanding in the attacking game.” Handball says, “Throughout my career, for example, I always thought about stuff that I missed. You can imagine I have been thinking about a lot of stuff this week. That’s the way it is.”

Independence

The Independence kickoff the 2011 WPS season away to Sky Blue FC on Sunday at 6pm. With four key players likely to be away with the USWNT for the Women’s World Cup, Joanna Lohman says, “This team is built so that we are not dependent on one or two or three people…we’re not really worried about who’s missing. We’re more worried about who’s here and how we’re going to play with the group of players that we have.”

Single game tickets are on sale now for the home opener on April 17.

Local

The Harrisburg City Islanders have signed four new players. Their season kicks off April 16.

Reading United talk with alumni, Chivas USA draft pick and Lancaster, PA native Zarek Valentin.

A project is underway to make a feature length documentary about Philadelphia’s Anderson Monarchs, the only all girls, nationally competitive African-American soccer club in the US. The team was nominated in Sports Illustrated as Sports Team of the Year in 2008. The filmmakers need your help funding the making of the film. You can make a donation to this very worthy project here. As of this writing, the filmmakers have raised $11,435 of the $25,000 they need by April 21.

Reminder: the registration deadline for the Sheanon Williams’ supported Miles for MJ 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run is Saturday, April 9 if you want to be guaranteed to get a t-shirt in your size. Check out the IllegitimateS website for more details.

Elsewhere

Four players on the Bahrain national team have been suspended for supporting anti-government protests.

The alleged leader of a match fixing ring in Europe has admitted to bribing players.

A Sunderland supporter is suing the club for being knocked unconscious by a stray shot during a Sunderland training session during the 2008-2009 season.

Steven Gerrard is out for the rest of the season.

Footy on the Telly™

Friday, April 8
Guatemala v Costa Rica (CONCACAF U-20 semifinal) 8pm ESPN Deportes
Dallas v Colorado 9pm FSC
Tecos v Queretaro 9pm Galavision
Mexico v Panama 10pm ESPN Deportes

Saturday, April 9
Wolverhampton v Everton 7:30am ESPN2
Hamburg v Borussia Dortmund 9:30am GolTV
Manchester United v Fulham 10am FSC
Chelsea v Wigan 10am FSP
Nurnberg v Bayern Munich 12pm ESPN Deportes
Inter Milan v Chievo 12pm FSC
Sunderland v West Brom 12pm FSP
Barcelona v Almeria 2pm GolTV
Athletic Bilbao v Real Madrid 2pm ESPN Deportes
Swansea v Norwich 2pm FSP
Udinese v Roma 2:30pm FSC
Mallorca v Sevilla 4pm GolTV
Racing Santander v Levante 4pm ESPN Deportes
Spurs v Stoke City 5pm FSC
Blackburn v Birmingham 6pm FSP
Monterrey v Santos Laguna 6pm Telemundo
Cruz Azul v Morelia 6pm ESPN Deportes
Philadelphia Union v New York Red Bulls 7pm ESPN2
Chico v Atletico Nacional 7:15pm GolTV
Pachuca v Jaguares 8pm Galavision
Deportivo Cali v Pereira 9:30pm GolTV
San Luis v Necaxa 10pm Galavision
Atlante v Atlas 10pm Telefutura
Paraguay v Colombia (South America U-17) 10pm ESPN Deportes

Sunday, April 10
Juventus v Genoa 6:30am FSP
Blackpool v Arsenal 8:30am FSC
Bologna v Napoli 9am FSC
Argentina v Brazil (South America U-17) 10am ESPN Deportes
Aston Villa v Newcastle 11am FSC
Bayer Leverkusen v St. Pauli 11:30am GolTV
Atletico Madrid v Real Sociedad 12pm ESPN Deportes
Pumas v Tigres 1pm Telemundo
Puebla v Toluca 1pm Fox Deportes
Fiorentina v AC Milan 2:30pm FSC
Valencia v Villarreal 3pm GolTV
Lyon v Lens 3pm FSP
CONCACAF U-20 third-place match 3pm ESPN Deportes
CONCACAF U-20 final 5pm ESPN Deportes
Noroeste v Sao Paulo 5pm GolTV
Sky Blue FC v Philadelphia Independence 6pm FSC
Houston Dynamo v Vancouver Whitecaps 7pm Galavision
Chivas v America 7pm Telemundo

Monday, April 11
Liverpool v Manchester City 3pm ESPN2