HARRISON, NJ (October 3, 2014) – The New York Red Bulls open up a three game home-stand with their playoff dreams teetering on a raggedy edge. With much of their destiny resting on this next stretch of games, the sense of urgency with the team, and its fans, is palpable.
New York Red Bulls v Houston Dynamo
Of course, a midweek round up of rumors that captain Thierry Henry will be leaving the club after this season, and that Red Bull GmbH is looking to sell the team to the first person to produce $300 million has not done any service to a team that spent the week licking it’s wounds from a 4-0 spanking in Los Angeles by Landon Donovan and the Galaxy. Henry himself mentioned that a short memory is key moving forward. “It was a sour defeat, I can tell you that for sure, but you know you have to move on and make sure that you can concentrate on Houston and play well.”
Henry himself was questioned yet again about comments that Gerard Houlier, the man in Austria that holds the checkbook, made late last night about Henry’s future with the club. He echoed the Grant Wahl report that there is “no chance” that Henry returns to Harrison next season. Henry had nothing of substance to say on the subject, “If you see him ask him. That’s it. Ask him when you see him.”
Truly enlightening.
Turning to the match at hand, the New York Red Bulls released that Roy, Miller (Costa Rica), Matt Miazga (USMNT U-23), Tim Cahill (Australia), and Ambroise Oyongo (Cameroon) will all be called up from club play to participate in friendlies for their country after Saturday’s match. However, Oyongo will not be available on Saturday, according to manager Mike Petke, still rehabbing a hamstring injury sustained on their trip to El Salvador in CONCACCAF Champions League play. Lloyd Sam, who also missed the LA match with hamstring issues, looks ready to go. “He’s excited about tomorrow so it’s good to have him back.”
Houston did not fare well in their last trip to Harrison earlier this season, with Golden Boot leader Bradley Wright-Phillips victimizing the Dynamo for one of his three hat tricks this season. Now, with the stakes higher, the Red Bulls look to solidify the playoff picture with a victory Saturday evening on the national stage. Tim Cahill, who has had issues on finding a place on this squad, was fired up to play Houston, “They’re a few points away, but a win for them tomorrow would put them in a situation – it would put us under a lot of pressure. At home I’m always quietly confident of winning, you know we’ve proved our quality at home and we’ve also picked up some important points over the last couple months, but the main thing for now is that we’ve just got to win.”
“Yeah, it’s extra special,” Cahill added.
Houston may be a long shot to make the playoffs at this point, but one thing that the Red Bulls know well is that a team coached by the gritty Dom Kinnear should never be counted out. One win over New York could propel Houston into the thick of four teams vying for the final two berths in the Eastern Conference. To make matters worse for New york, Toronto seems to have had a renaissance as of late, with Bradley leading the Reds to a dramatic comeback victory over the Portland Timbers last weekend. TFC earned a valuable three points to put them only one point with a game in hand behind New York for the fifth and final spot in MLS’ fall party. With that said, Petke expects a difficult match. “They can be direct sometimes and like you said they can also put the ball on the ground and play. A couple of key additions they’ve had and the speed they have up front, it’s going to be a tough game for us, we know that, but we’re comfortable at home and we are confident and we understand what we need to do.”
Photo Credit: Rob Tringali/New York Red Bulls
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