HANOVER, N.J. – New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke consistently circled back to one theme in his Friday meeting with the media as his team prepares for the away leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series of the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, against D.C. United.
And that’s his team’s mentality.
Petke’s side holds the advantage heading into the Saturday meeting at RFK Stadium (2:30 pm ET; NBC, stream on NBC LiveExtra, get tickets here) after picking up a 2-0 home victory in the Sunday opener.
While they’re undoubtedly in the more favorable position, Petke has emphasized the ability of his players to keep the pressure on United despite their advantage. There are still 90 minutes to be played, after all, and United has shown a propensity for grabbing results at home when they needed to this year en route to finishing atop the conference.
“We could talk about all the tactics we want in the world, and we have, but at the end of the day it’s going to be a fight,” Petke said. “They’re in first place for a reason. This is far from over and the players do understand that and I harp on it.”
Part of what Petke has driven home is the importance to continue their organized play that led to an 8-2-1 record since September.
“We are who we are,” said Petke. “When we are organized defensively and we’re not chasing things and not getting stretched out, when we do that, we win the ball, we create things. Of course, we want to score. An early [goal] would be phenomenal for us, or even a late goal.
“But to me, defense first. That doesn’t mean sitting on top of the 18-yard box. It means sound defense from our starting points that we’ve had. We know that if we can get three quarters of the way up the field, we’re a team that can create things. And it’s up to us to finish those creations and get one on the board.”
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And a tally for New York, considering the new away goals tiebreaker rule, would mean United would need to win at least 4-1 to advance.
Given the Red Bulls’ long history of suffering major letdowns, especially in the postseason, any insurance would be welcomed. But Petke, who has been with the organization for many of their past postseason letdowns, has not tried to motivate by talking about the past.
“I look at last year, I did a lot of hammering into them the history of the club, the fact that we haven’t accomplished anything, the fact that there’s been turnover after turnover. This year, I haven’t,” he said. “I think it’s because of that reason, I don’t need to remind these guys of that.
“The guys who know it take it to heart. The guys who don’t, they don’t need to know it, to be honest, at this point.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
