HARRISON, N.J. – The New York Red Bulls’ throwaway CONCACAF Champions League game Wednesday will not be so meaningless, after all.
The Red Bulls are set to play host to the Montreal Impact in the Group 5 finale (8 pm ET; Fox Sports 2), a match that has no significance to New York from a results standpoint given their early elimination from the competition. But head coach Mike Petke does see some value in the match, as he plans to use it as a tool to gauge which players could potentially help in the playoffs and beyond.
“Tomorrow’s game is going to be an opportunity for all the players who haven’t had much playing time,” said Petke after training at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday. “To be quite honest, to put a little bit of pressure that we’re going to have to make decisions towards the end of the year.
“… Listen, the fact of the matter is this, we’re out of the Champions League, we just played two days ago and we have a huge game in Kansas City this weekend. Now, it’s going to be our players who have not had much minutes this year.”
Two seldom-used Red Bulls players who have used recent Champions League games as a springboard for more minutes in league play are Ruben Bover and Ian Christianson. The youngsters have contributed mostly in spurts off the bench after showing they could keep up and perform at the level of the regional tournament and are now on the cusp of solidifying a place in New York’s 18-man roster.
“Champions League has been a great platform for guys like that,” said Petke. “You can even argue [Richard] Eckersley as well, getting back into it. I’m looking specifically to see those two guys, Ian and Rubin, put a good performance in ahead of the final [regular-season] game and then the playoffs and also other guys who have not perhaps gotten enough minutes this year to take this time to impress us.”
Chris Duvall and Ryan Meara are also another pair of younger players who should start against the Impact. The rookie Duvall has been given a break from playing in recent weeks after seeing a dip in form, and Meara is the talented second-choice goalkeeper who has not been able to earn many minutes because of the stellar form of starter Luis Robles.
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While those two youngsters will be aiming to impress Petke, other prospects like Marius Obekop and Eric Stevenson will want to really make a statement. Their jobs could depend on it.
“It’s one final look before the last game of the season and playoffs of who we could count on,” said Petke, “who can make a statement for playing time, or coming off the bench, depth, and also, yes, for 2015.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
