Head Coach Gerhard Struber knows the Red Bulls could have had more on Saturday night, despite a lot of decent performances on the pitch.
"A result that will give us not the right feeling," Struber said. "I can see also some good development from some players today, and also I think from the defense side, I think we make many things in a good way."
New York and D.C. United played to a 1-1 draw in the second matchup of the season for in the Atlantic Cup rivalry.
"The result give us not the right feeling," Struber said. "We expect the win. We expect three points. Right now, it's not easy to pick up the points that we want for the playoffs, I think I miss, in the end, one more time, the big desire and conviction in the end to create chances to come in the last third -- with more power, and realize earlier, a second or a third goal."
New York got on the board early, with Dru Yearwood scoring his first MLS goal in the opening minutes of the game. But a handball in the box, reviewed by VAR, gave D.C. a penalty as the first half expired.
"We have to accept it, and we cannot cry about it," Struber said. "We have to look forward and we have to create always a good mindset -- a positive, optimistic mindset."
New York's match against D.C. was the first of eight matches in the next month -- five more in what remains of September.
"We know that the next few weeks are not easy," Struber said. "We need every single player. Right now, it's a good feeling that we have some very, very good replacements on the bench, and I can feel everyone from the whole roster is ready to bring an impact."
New York is still looking to get on the scoresheet on a more regular basis.
"We have to bring more actions, with more power with more desire, in the last third, and then I think we can create more chances and we can create, in the end, more goals," Struber said.
The team deployed a one-striker formation to start the match, later bringing in a second striker to try and find the winner.
"We need more killer instinct, more ruthlessness, to create the second or third goal," Struber said.
The Red Bulls head on the road for a rare Tuesday matchup, visiting Columbus Crew, before a Friday matchup with Inter Miami CF in Florida to cap off three games in seven days.
"For the next two weeks, we have a rotation plan," Struber said. "We have to be flexible and use everyone."
New York knows it's crunch time.
"It's not easy at the moment, but we believe in us and we believe in our quality, what we have," Struber said.
