CHESTER, PA– Warren Creavalle and Derrick Jones were expected to play some part in the Philadelphia Union’s busy week, but they should receive more time on the field following Saturday’s skirmish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With Haris Medunjanin and Alejandro Bedoya suspended for Friday’s league match against Toronto FC, the pair of back-up central defensive midfielders are preparing for what could be a busy week starting with an U.S. Open Cup fourth-round game on Tuesday.
“It’s just another opportunity I’m supposed to take,” Jones said. “Just go out there and show myself, work hard and try to get a win for my team.”
Creavalle has been ahead of Jones on the central midfield depth chart this season, as he’s been plugged into the lineup on a few occasions, including Saturday, when he played 67 minutes off the bench for the nine-man Union.
“For guys to be able to step up, that’s what you have a roster for,” Creavalle said. “Through the course of 90 minutes or through the course of the season everyone has to be ready.”
“If you look at the work Warren Creavalle did in a situation which you can’t prepare for, to get thrown into defensive midfield in a 4-3-1 is not an easy task against Atlanta,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “The heart, effort and ground he covered and defending he did, even the holding balls to attack and actually have us get chances down two men was special.”
Curtin has a few potential combinations at his disposal for Tuesday’s contest at home against the Richmond Kickers, as Medunjanin and Bedoya are available for selection since the Open Cup is a separate competition from MLS play.
Also complicating the situation is a possible appeal of Bedoya’s second yellow card. Curtin wouldn’t directly confirm the club is using one of its appeals on the captain’s booking during the 19th-minute incident following the awarding of a penalty to Josef Martinez, but he hinted at it on Monday.
“We’re assessing that right now and the best combination,” Curtin said. “It’s still a very fluid situation because we don’t know exactly who’s available for what games.”
If the Union look to balance minutes between their midfield core, Creavalle seems like a shoo-in to start on Friday given his wealth of experience and the trust Curtin confides in him.
Jones should have the opportunity to impress the coaching staff on Tuesday, as it’s likely he’ll line up next to Medunjanin with Bedoya possibly waiting in the wings on the bench if the Union are unable to close out the game.
No one on the Union roster needs first-team minutes more than Jones, who has been relegated to earning time with the club’s USL affiliate Bethlehem Steel.
“For Warren and Derrick, two guys we trust and believe in and Warren’s a true professional,” Curtin said. “For him to step in and do the job he did was special. I know Derrick, if he’s called upon to start tomorrow, he’ll be ready to do the same.”
The Homegrown product impressed in the eight starts he received at the start of the 2017 season, but setbacks caused by injuries and form have hurt his spot on the depth chart.
If Jones shines against Richmond, he’ll give Curtin a trustworthy option in midfield alongside Creavalle against the always-dangerous Toronto FC attack.
In the worst-case scenario, Curtin could use Anthony Fontana or even Borek Dockal in a deeper role next to Creavalle on Friday, with Ilsinho sliding into the No. 10 role and an adjustment made on the wings to feature Marcus Epps or David Accam alongside Fafa Picault.
Regardless of who plays in which game, the focus starts with Tuesday night in a competition the Union value as much as the MLS season.
“It’s win or go home,” Creavalle said. “If you don’t come out and compete, anything can happen in these games so you have to take it as such and give it your all.”