The New York Red Bulls were not kidding this weekend when they said they wanted more than just any playoffs spot.
The Red Bulls clinched a postseason berth for the fifth consecutive season on Sunday thanks to rivals D.C. United’s 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo, and now need only worry about where they finish among the Eastern Conference’s top five clubs.
Several members of the club said they were taking this quite seriously after their 3-1 win over Toronto FC a day earlier, and that was emphasized Monday when head coach Mike Petke stated he had no intentions to rest aging starters like Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave during the final two weeks of the regular season.
“There’s no more balancing, there’s no more balancing,” said Petke. “The only thing that I would say obviously is if there’s somebody who is not 100 percent or somebody who for whatever [reason] their fitness is [lacking] … But there’s no more of a balance thing left because we made the playoffs and if we win both games we could climb a bit or, at the very least, stay out of fifth place.
“We need to be sharp, we need to be firing on all cylinders going into these playoffs.”
New York play the first of those final two games on Sunday when they host the Columbus Crew (3 pm ET, UniMas) ahead of a visit to Sporting Kansas City in their season finale on Oct. 26.
A win this weekend would ensure that the Red Bulls do not finish in fifth place, and closing the campaign out with victories over both the Crew and Sporting KC would guarantee that Petke’s side avoids having to partake in the Knockout round altogether.
The Red Bulls – who could even finish as high as second in the East if the New England Revolution slip up – clearly still have plenty to play for.
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“The only balance I would see is if we come down to the Kansas City game and no matter win, lose or draw, our position will not move at all, perhaps there’s a resting period,” said Petke.
“Other than that, if we have a chance to climb another position or two going into Kansas City, I don’t believe there will be a balance or a resting period. We know the higher we get, the better we are prepared going in and the better position we’ll be in, obviously.”
The Red Bulls have not completely overlooked the accomplishment that is reaching the postseason. They just know they do not have the luxury of basking in the glory of it for long.
“We’re obviously very proud and very happy with it,” said Petke. “First mission down and now a short mission to get a bye if we could, but, at the end of the day, we are in the playoffs. We are excited about it.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
