Even with Kai Wagner questionable, Union ready for Orlando rematch

The proposition hasn’t been tested much yet this season, but Bradley Carnell’s hope is for interchangeability. Part of his mandate to cultivate depth for the Philadelphia Union involves spreading the playing time around, and while he didn’t have to make a change in the first four weeks of the season, the system is built to accommodate it.

So late last week, when an oblique injury ruled out Kai Wagner for the trip to Inter Miami, Carnell had no problem making a late swap of Nate Harriel to right back with Frankie Westfield on the left. And this week, he’s not pressed too much about the prospect of the left back missing another week.

“I’ve always believed in the hybrid system where we can plug and play players and the system is still, based on our dedication to it in preseason, that we can get guys in and out as we need,” the first-year boss said. “And I think we’ve seen that.”

Wagner worked to the side Thursday. While listed as questionable, Carnell said that the club doesn’t, “want to push anything and then get delayed by multiple weeks.” Belief in depth, which Carnell has professed plenty of, will forestall that urge.

The manager hasn’t seen from the Union (4-2-0, 12 points) a performance that has displeased him yet. Last week’s 2-1 loss at Inter Miami is one he maintained the club was good enough to prevail with at least a point from. Even the home loss to Nashville was one he maintained they could’ve won.

This week, they take on the team they beat in Week 1 in Orlando (7:30, AppleTV), a second meeting in less than two months. That 4-2 win started with the Union going down a goal but fighting back to roundly tun the game on its head, though aided by a mess of a defensive performance from the hosts.

Both teams have developed somewhat since then. Orlando (3-2-1, 10 points) got Robin Jansson, its best center back ruled out on the day of the opener, back and healthy. Duncan McGuire is building his fitness. Offseason signing Marco Pasalic, who scored twice against the Union, has had more time to settle and develop a partnership with Luis Murriel up top. The team as a whole has a better idea how to cope with the season-ending injury to defensive midfielder Wilder Cartagena, sustained days before the opener.

“They have their way. We have our way,” Carnell said. “So I think it’s pretty much everybody knows exactly what we’re trying to do, and I think it’s going to be the matchups on the day that make the difference.”

That’s been Carnell’s general approach. Even last week against Miami, he felt the Union were the better team in the second half, Lionel Messi’s transition goal notwithstanding.

“We have a very good return in the final third, in terms of the pressure we put them under,” Carnell said. “That we concede in a transitional moment is a little bit disappointing to us. And we looked at it and worked at it through this week as well. And you’re coming up against world class players who can make a difference at any time.

“We felt we had it in our hands to get a point and more, and that’s what drives us going forward into this week. We knew we had enough. We just know that we need to take those moments and really be resilient and gritty on the road to make sure we do bring a point home, not just the performance.”