Tranquillo Barnetta's Game-winner ‘moment of Brilliance' for Union

CHESTER, Pa. -- Tranquillo Barnetta didn't miss twice.

Before the midfielder's dramatic game-winning goal in the 90th minute during the Union's 2-1 win over Orlando City SC Friday, Barnetta had a free kick chance from nearly the exact spot: Roughly 26-yards outside the box.

It took off into the Talen Energy Stadium crowd.

"It was the other corner," Barnetta said with a laugh, when asked about the difference between shots. "You always try to hit it like that but it doesn't usually happen. I'm happy that I hit it the right way the second time."

Maybe it was nerves that settled Barnetta. The Swiss midfielder, who missed three games with a knee injury, was appearing in just his second game of the season and entered the match in the 63rd minute. Fifteen minutes later, he muffed the first opportunity.

"He got the first one out of the way and calmed down," said Union captain Brian Carroll, who cracked a smile. "He struck [the second shot] true and thank goodness it went in."

Barnetta corrected his original mistake. To the awe of his teammates, he bent the ball around the right side of the Orlando wall, off the crossbar and in.

"It was a moment of brilliance," Union fullback Keegan Rosenberry said.

But it also wasn't your normal free kick. While the playmakers lined up on the ball and Orlando made the conventional defensive wall, the remaining Union players lined up three yards offsides, behind the defender's wall and in front of goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

It was a unique setup that seemed to confuse the defense and temporarily blind Bendik.

"The timing of [the second wall] gives a distraction," Union manager Jim Curtin said. "It's something we picked up from another team that was successful with it. It provides a little bit of a different look."

Barnetta couldn't explain the arrangement, but was glad it worked.

"Actually, I don't know," he said with a laugh, when asked about the strategy. "I wasn't at the free kick [practice]. You saw the keeper, he had no view to the ball and it was a little bit confusing for them because they saw the wall was offsides. I think it's a really good idea to take the view off the keeper."

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