Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

When the Union face New York Red Bulls tonight (7:30 pm: TCN, WACP TV-4 (Xfinity: Ch. 4/789; Fios: Ch. 4/504; DirecTV/Dish: Ch. 4), MLS Live, MLS Direct Kick), they will face a team that, like itself, is better than their results so far in the young 2014 season might suggest.

In a teleconference with reporters on Tuesday, John Hackworth said of the Red Bulls, “I think within their own team, you hear the talk coming out of their camp that they think they’ve played well and yet, similar to us, have given up goals in inopportune times, numerous restarts and they’ve given up several penalty kicks. We think they’re thinking they’ve played better than their results show and that’s a little bit scary. You’re looking at a team that’s going to be highly motivated and hungry to get their first win, particularly at home.”

Hackworth explained, “Like a lot of teams in this league, it’s still early in the year. It’s not a finished product yet. Red Bull is probably suffering from that a little bit. It’s scary because they have a lot of quality, and when you do see the moments they play well, they are really a good team. We have to do a good job containing them and breaking up that rhythm. If they get going, they are really dangerous.”

Sheanon Williams said, “Anytime we play Red Bulls, it’s a big game for us — especially in the position we’re in. We have to start picking up points here. It’s a big game on the road, and we want to establish ourselves as a team that wins big games on the road.”

The Union, who played New York to a scoreless draw last August for their first-ever points at Red Bull Arena, have drawn the last three games. Hackworth said, “There is no question that we have tried to analyze this as a staff. What it really comes down to is we need to defend better, and we need to do it from the first whistle to the last whistle. We’ve been strong in that area for long blocks of games and then we’re losing concentration…When all of these plays happen and they happen in the same time frame, it is cause for concern.”

Still, the Union head coach is confident that such lapses can be corrected. “I’m always looking at it like the glass is half-full. I think that with the quality of our team this year, we’re built for being successful over the long haul. The mistakes we made early in the season are correctable. They are not as much technical or tactical mistakes, as they are concentration and poor execution. We can solve those problems and we can really improve. It gives me pause to look at this and think once we get all those things sorted out, we can be a team, that over a 34-game season, can get those points back.”

Hackworth added, “We had a couple chances up there before, and we’ve felt like we played well and we gave up goals late and lost all the points. So hopefully the group of guys that are returning to Red Bull Arena will feel like it’s not impossible for us to get a result up there. Again, we are trying to concentrate on what we need to improve on. We know we are going to face a quality Red Bull team, and it’s going to be difficult, but we are looking forward to it.

Are the players concerned about the quick turnaround from last Saturday’s game against Salt Lake? Antoine Hoppenot said, “I don’t think it matters — everyone here is a professional soccer player and they know you sometimes will have a quick turnaround. The players are ready and we know the Red Bulls will be ready. It’ll be a fun one. There will be a lot of energy. It’ll be a good one.”

Match previews from PSP, Philadelphia Union, MLSsoccer.com, Philadelphia Daily News, Delco Times, CSN Philly, Philly Soccer News, Brotherly Game, David Murphy’s Philadelphia Union Blog, Stoppage Time Soccer, Big Apple Soccer, Once A Metro, Soccer America, Goal.com, WhoScored.com, and The Sports Network. Also at Brotherly Game, three questions with fellow SB Nation blog Once a Metro.

New York’s Tim Cahill and Armando returned to training this week but head coach Mike Petke said in an interview on Tuesday, ““Cahill will not be starting tomorrow. Armando will not be starting tomorrow.” Both will be available off the bench. Bradley Wright-Phillips might start.

More power rankings: At MLSsoccer.com, the Union move up two spots to No. 9. At ProSoccerTalk, the Union remain level at No. 9.

In the Castrol Index Top 20 Performers list for Week 6, Maurice Edu comes in at No. 13. In the Full Castrol Index, the top five Union players are Andrew Wenger (No. 8), Leo Fernandes (No. 27), Maurice Edu, (No. 48), Cristian Maidana (No. 59), and Amobi Okugo (No. 70).

Edu was named to ProSoccerTalk’s Team of the Week. Vincent Nogueira got an honorable mention.

Nogueira and Zac MacMath were named to SBI’s Best XI for Week 6. Andrew Wenger received an honorable mention.

At Goal.com, Ives Galarcep projects that Edu will be called into the World Cup training camp.

Edu gets some recognition for his play with the Union from his hometown paper.

The Union Academy team defeated Chivas de Guadalajara 1-0 on Tuesday in group play at the Generation adidas Cup. Derrick Amaniampong tallied for the Union. Now at 1-1-0, the team faces their San Jose Earthquakes counterparts on Thursday.

The Union website has a report on a workshop in which mock interviews with students from Chester High School and the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) Academy that was organized by the Philadelphia Union Foundation along with the Chester Business Association, Chester City’s Workforce Development Office, and the Chester Education Foundation.

Local

Sydney Zandi (Penn Fusion; West Chester, Pa.) Rachael Dorwart (Penn Fusion; Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Casey Palmer (Matchfit Academy; Brick, N.J.), and Frankie Tagliaferri (PDA; Colts Neck, N.J.) have been called up for the US U-15 GNT camp in Carson, Calif., from April 19-26.

MLS

The league’s disciplinary committee has fined Columbus Crew centerback Giancarlo Gonzalez for embellishment.

Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey isn’t concerned that expansion will dilute the player pool. “[T]here’s more or less an unlimited amount of soccer players in the world. There’s over 100 professional leagues in the world, almost all of which we can draw from

MLB’s fields and facilities coordinator Murray Cook says of NYC FC playing its first three seasons at Yankee Stadium, “Is it ideal? It is not the greatest, but it works. It is doable.”

Former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman is one of the leaders of the coalition that opposes David Beckham’s plan to build a soccer stadium at PortMiami. Braman helpfully tells Reuters, “There are plenty of other places for the stadium to be.”

Pioneer Press reports, “The Minnesota Vikings are ‘stepping up’ talks with Major League Soccer about bringing a team to the Twin Cities, a team official told a group of metro-area business leaders Tuesday.”

Here’s a look at the “5 best Major League Soccer Craft Beer Partnerships.” Shame the Yards-Sons of Ben beer hasn’t been released yet.

US

Landon Donovan describes how the physical problems that come with being older are what have prevented him from starting with the USMNT, not any conflict with Jurgen Klinsmann. “When I’m [with the national team], I still feel like I’m one of the best players, and that I can still contribute in a big way. I can’t do it every day in training. That’s why leading up to the Mexico game, when I don’t train well for a couple of days, alarm bells probably go off in Jurgen’s head. But I know myself, and I know when game day comes, I know how to perform.”

At ESPN, Jeff Carlisle has a good read in which players talk about the pressure of being on the bubble of being called up for the World Cup.

US soccer fans gobbled up the World Cup tickets that FIFA made available for sale on Tuesday, once again coming up second only to Brazil in purchases.

Women’s Soccer United talks to Tom Sermanni about his departure from the USWNT.

The San Diego Union-Tribune has an entertaining interview with Eric Wynalda.

Elsewhere

At ESPN, Gabriele Marcotti has a Q&A primer on what recent developments with UEFA’s financial fair play efforts mean.

The Guardian and Reuters report on Tuesday’s ceremony at Anfield marking the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Sir Alex Ferguson is auctioning off his 5,000 bottle collection of wine. Ferguson says, “Taking an interest in wine allowed me to have an interest outside the game. You have to have outside interests to distract you from the intensity and the pressure you come under as a football manager.” The pre-sale estimated value of the collection is over $5 million.