Photo: Ryan McElroy

On June 4th, Jose Nunez reported that the Israeli soccer federation have dismissed Tai Baribo from the international camp with an injury as of June 1^st. With the Union playing its last match on May 31^st, the injury appeared to stem from his substitute appearance in the FC Dallas match one day prior.

Of course, Baribo has had a fantastic season so far, building on his terrific goal scoring campaign under Jim Curtin in 2024. The injury comes at a tough time for the Union, as Mikael Uhre also reportedly suffered a groin strain in the FC Dallas match.

Per Bradley Carnell’s press conference on Thursday 6/12, both Uhre and Baribo are not expected to be available for another ten to twelve days. However, with soft tissue injuries, there is a level of uncertainty in the recovery timeline, especially midseason.

Baribo still has not traveled back to the US, as he is undergoing treatment in Israel. And Uhre has trained with the team, but is still feeling the effects of the injury.

Down to just Bruno Damiani and Chris Donovan as rostered first-team strikers, the Union’s deep rotation up top is now not so deep.

Rostered options

Carnell has shown a defined willingness to be tactically flexible. He has used a number of formations and personnel that has spanned the gamut of the roster available to him.

That willingness from the manager has been especially apparent up top, with Carnell using a number of different striking combinations to manage the tight scheduling in May. If memory serves, there have been eight different combinations used up top in the season so far.

“We could continue our two striker system with two tens, or we could flood it with three tens and a striker,” Carnell stated in his pre-match press conference yesterday.

Carnell seems to have a certain liking for Chris Donovan. If the manager wanted to keep the formation stagnant, he could use Damiani and Donovan together as he’s done at certain points already this season.

However, on certain separate occasions this season, the Union have lined up in a solo striker format. One of those instances came vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the Open Cup, with Damiani playing up top in a 4-2-3-1.

Carnell has also utilized this look to improve rest defense and see out games – most recently to clinch a 1-0 victory vs. Atlanta United earlier in the month of May.

In reality, the 4-2-3-1 look is not truly far off from Carnell’s 4-2-2-2. Out of possession, the Union’s standard “empty bucket” format never actually leaves the middle of the field vacant. Whether it’s one of the tens, sixes, or one of the strikers dropping back to fill the gap is dependent on situation, numbers, and space.

In the match vs. Pittsburgh, Vassilev was put in the 10 role just behind Damiani, but often times, he was pressed up alongside Damiani in what was a 4-4-2 out of possession.

Damiani appeared much more comfortable in his role as a solo striker vs. Pittsburgh. He was the focal point of several attacks, combining play with Cavan, Quinn, Vassilev, and Danley just behind him.

His willingness and desire to play more of a target man role, and his skill with his back to goal, invites others into the attack in a way that not many other strikers on the roster replicate.

This is a role that both Baribo and Damiani similarly look to provide in possession often resulting in redundant runs – ultimately crowding the space of one another.

Therefore, Damiani’s effectiveness when paired with a striker like Baribo has shown to be more limited. The pair have not quite figured out how to play off one another effectively yet – which will come with time.

Still, Damiani has shown scattered flashes of brilliance in the roles he’s played so far. His expected goals generated per 90 minutes still leads the team. The Uruguayan has also been robbed by strong goalkeeping play more than a couple times this season.

The finishing will surely follow suit.

Academy options

There are some players within the Union youth academy that Carnell could turn to as well. Some of those youth players were given a taste of the “big-time” with appearances vs. Atlas FC in the Union’s friendly match last Saturday.

Union II strikers Stas Korzeniowski, Eddy Davis, and Markus Anderson all saw minutes up top. Anderson, who saw minutes with the first team in some matches last season, scored a beauty of a goal in the vs. Atlas.

Anderson also has the added ability to slide into an attacking midfield spot, which he exhibited during the Atlas FC match – a role he has also played for Curtin and the Union II. With Quinn Sullivan making the USMNT Gold Cup’s roster, there will also be a shortage of attacking midfield options as well, and it is likely Anderson will be called upon at some point during the summer.

“He is getting to that point now where he is becoming a real option for us. Not just because we are thin, but thinking about how he adds value,” Carnell said of Anderson.

That said, all three displayed their worth vs. Atlas FC – proving that they can also become contributors to the first-team possibly sooner rather than later.