For the first time since mid-August, the New York Red Bulls will not play on the weekend. That’s a welcomed respite, as far as the club is concerned.
The Red Bulls have been on a good run of form in recent weeks, but take a much-needed break this weekend along with the other remaining clubs in the MLS Cup Playoffs, Presented by AT&T, because of the international window.
While that might be perceived like a potential negative given that it could kill some of New York’s momentum going into the Eastern Conference Championship with the New England Revolution, the veteran-laden Red Bulls are seeing the weekend off as a positive due in part to the fact that it will provide some players time to rest their tired and hurting legs.
“We’ve had so many games piled up over the last, close to a month, that I think it’s a good thing,” said head coach Mike Petke. “I think the guys need a bit of a rest, I think it’s a good thing to sit back and readily prepare instead of doing two, three preparations in between games. To have almost two weeks to really prepare for this important series, I think it’s a good thing.”
The last time the Red Bulls had a similar break was the weekend of Aug. 15. They have played 18 games across all competitions since then, and will add at least two more to that total with the upcoming series with the Revolution, who hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
New York will host the first leg at Red Bull Arena on Nov. 23 (1:30 pm ET; NBC) before traveling to New England six days later for the decisive match at Gillette Stadium (3 pm ET; NBCSN, UDN in the US | TSN2, RDS2 in Canada) that will determine who advances to the MLS Cup Final. Petke knows the series will not be an easy one for his club, especially since the Revolution are on a roll and fresh off a confidence-boosting 7-3 aggregate victory over the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
“I think they’ve earned the right to be the favorites,” said Petke. “The way they’ve finished in their position in the league [and] any team that scores seven goals over two games in a playoff series is pretty damn impressive. They have the firepower going forward and they have a solid defense as well.
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“The play of [Lee] Nguyen is getting a lot of talk this year and I think it’s worthy … They have the speed with [Teal] Bunbury and [Charlie] Davies up front, but to me the addition of Jermaine Jones halfway through the season was huge for me. It was a team that had so much talent, perhaps a bit young, inexperienced, and I think that’s what he brought there, and now they’re firing on all cylinders.
“It’s a team I’ve enjoyed watching, to be honest with you, over the last couple of months, and it’s going to be a very, very tough challenge for us.”
As tough as it might be, New York are feeling good about their chances in the series. They have played drastically better since altering their tactics at the start of September, and are 7-3-1 in league and postseason games played in that span.
Should they keep performing at that level, the Red Bulls believe they have what it takes to oust the Revolution and reach the MLS Cup Final
“You look at that body of work in the second half of the season, there’s a lot of things that we can be proud of,” goalkeeper Luis Robles told MLSsoccer.com. “I feel like as long as we continue to play our brand of soccer, I like our chances regardless.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
