June 1 was the last time Jack McInerney scored in Major League Soccer. In the interim, he’s been called up to the U.S. Men’s National Team (Gold Cup), been labeled the American Chicharito, lost his spot in Philadelphia’s starting lineup, and shed the label of American Chicharito. He hasn’t been inconsistent. He’s been bipolar. His 2013 has been an extreme high (10 goals in his first 13 games) followed by a demoralizing low (1044 scoreless minutes).
That all turned around Saturday night. With his team minutes away from what would have been an embarrassing loss at D.C. United, McInerney attacked a Kleberson cross, hammering his 90th minute header down, equalizing Nick DeLeon’s first half blast. Whereas it looked like the Union were about to be dealt a huge setback to their playoff hopes, McInerney’s first goal in over five months salvaged a point for Philadelphia. (Highlight: above.)
The goal took what looked like D.C. United’s fourth win in 32 games and turned it into the result Philadelphia needed to re-leapfrog New England. The Revolution’s afternoon upset in Montréal temporarily vaulted Jay Heap’s team into fifth, but with the draw, Philadelphia moved back in front of New England.
[MORE: New England keeps playoff hopes alive with win in Montréal.]
(Philadelphia now has 46 points. New England has 45. The Revolution’s five-goal edge in goals scored would have given New England the tiebreaker advantage, with both teams having won 12 games. A win by Chicago Saturday night against Dallas would vault the Fire above both Philadelphia and New England.)
Bigger picture, the game wasn’t a great postseason audition for Philadelphia. In their defense, the Union came in short-handed, a situation that got worse when Sebastian Le Toux, pressed into service at right back, had to leave with a plantar fascia problem. Still, D.C. United is a terrible team, and although DeLeon’s long-range strike was a shot-in-the-dark, you’d think a playoff-caliber team would have enough to overcome that setback:
But that’s the big question about Philadelphia: Are they really what we think of when we say playoff-caliber team? When you see a team dependent on Conor Casey -- one that seems to rely on their opponent’s mistakes rather than an ability to win games on their own -- it’s hard to see Philadelphia as threat. Tonight’s game at RFK illustrated that. If Philadelphia can’t do more to distance themselves from a team with only three wins, are they going to be more dangerous in the postseason than New England or Chicago?
This is where you can insert your U.S. Open Cup caveat. Real Salt Lake lost to D.C. United. By my logic, should RSL be considered a playoff-caliber team, you could ask. The difference: For Real Salt Lake, that game was the exception; Philadelphia’s lived by these rules all season.
Unless New England or Chicago step up, those rules become a playoff formula for John Hackworth. His team didn’t get the points they could have used on Saturday, but with a draw against D.C. United, the Union stay in the hunt.