For all intents and purposes, the Union’s real preseason started off Tuesday with its 2-1 loss to New York Red Bulls in what appeared to be miserable Jacksonville, Fla.



Though the Union ended up on the wrong side of the ledger thanks to goals by Lloyd Sam and this Henry guy, they enjoyed the better of play of large stretches. They also made wholesale changes at halftime, giving us a good sneak preview into the potential depth chart of John Hackworth. A few observations:

- Here’s the lineup that started:

MacMath

Fabinho-Marquez-Okugo-Williams

Carroll-Edu

Maidana-Nogueira -Cruz

McInerney

Note the arrangement at left back with Fabinho ahead of Ray Gaddis, and I think Richie Marquez’s nod indicates his place in the center back depth chart (though I wasn’t terribly impressed with his play, with the Red Bulls first team scoring both goals). In terms of formation, it seemed like Maurice Edu was pretty deep lying, making it more a 4-2-3-1 rather than a 4-1-2-3 with he and Vincent Nogueira in the center. There was also plenty of interchange between those midfielders drifting in and out.
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