Harrison, NJ (March 28th, 2015) – The New York Red Bulls head to Columbus, Ohio, to face the Crew. The Red Bulls are coming off their first victory of the season, dominating their oldest rivals, D.C. United, in a 2-0 victory. The Crew are coming off an early bye week after earning their first victory of the season over the star studded Toronto FC.
RBNY Need to Know: Red Bulls at Columbus
Typically, the Crew play a 4-2-3-1 formation, similarly to the New York Red Bulls, and, in looking at the two clubs, it almost seems that they are somewhat mirror images of each other. They both have very strong midfields. They rely on a single target striker. It’s an observation that has not escaped Jesse Marsch, as he leads his team into Mapfre Stadium.
“I think this weekend will be an incredible test to see where we’re at. I respect Columbus alot. I think what Greg Berhalter has done there is very good. They’ve established their identity in many way in direct contrast to what we’re trying to do. It should a good battle, and something the team is looking forward to”
Historically speaking, the Red Bulls have had a mixed bag of results in Columbus, earning an 11-15-4 record in Ohio. Last season, the Red Bulls battled to a 1-1 draw. However, this is, once again, a much different team. When talking about the victory over D.C., coach Marsch rated the performance a 4 out of 10. When asked about where he saw the biggest room for improvement, he candidly stated, “Our attention to detail… How connected we are tactically. I expect us only to get better. I still think we can be sharper around the goal. I felt that we needed Luis (Robles) too often to bail us out and make big saves. I think we’re ahead of schedule, but I think to get to where we want to be, we have a long way to go.”
They will call on another new defender this week to play in front of Robles, as the club announced the anticipated signing of Brooklyn, NY born defender, Anthony Wallace. With Kemar Lawrence called up by the Jamaican National Team and Roy Miller still suffering from his injury, the Red Bulls depth has been challenged early.
Wallace was the Colorado Rapids’ starting left back on the 2010 MLS Cup Championship team. He spent time with FC Dallas, and the Rapids, before spending 2014 playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL. With Lawrence away on international duty, it is unclear whether Wallace or New York’s homegrown Connor Lade will start.
Much has been made of the play of the midfield trio of Dax McCarty, Sacha Kljesten, and Felipe Martins. They will, again, be called upon to be the engine that drives the transistion and high press that Jesse Marsch wishes to deploy. When asked about it, on the conference call earlier in the week, Marsch said, “They really enjoy playing with each other. I do believe that they’re the heart of our team in many ways. I went out to get Felipe and Sacha because I knew what kind of players they are.”
One piece of encouraging news is that the Crew will be missing one of their key components in the midfield, as Iraqi national Justin Meram has been called away for international duty. The Red Bulls Three Musketeers will, indeed, be facing their biggest test yet, as they will try to maneuver through the Columbus midfield that features Frederico Higuain, Tony Tchani, and Mohammed Saeid in their core. Will Trapp is questionable with a calf injury, and will be leving for the US Men U23 team directly after the match.
Bradley Wright-Phillips, who earned a goal and assist in the D.C. victory and was voted MLS’ Player of the Week, will be pivotal in securing a victory in Columbus. Wright-Phillips will face a much steeper task as he looks for the seams in between the Crew’s centerbacks Emanuel Pogatetz, and Michael Parkhurst, as well as defensive midfielder Tony Tchani. Tchani and Pogatetz could prove to be a test for BWP, who had trouble staying connected tactically with the midfield during New York’s first game of the season in Sporting Park. In that match, Sporting Kansas City’s centerbacks played Wright-Phillips very physically, a type of play that ended up earning Matt Besler a red card in the second half. Look for BWP to continue to be more than just a target and use his hold up play to drive the Red Bulls through the Crew back four.
One player that could figure in a big way is Lloyd Sam. Coming into the season coach Marsch had challenged Sam to change his game, transitioning from play making only to scoring goals for his club. With Columbus missing Waylon Francis going into this match, Sam will likely be called again to pressure the left side of the Crew back line. After last week’s D.C. match, Sam spoke about the transition, “Coach really just wants me looking for goals more. I can still be myself though. Sometimes I was wide, doing what I was doing last year, and now I’ve added getting into the box a bit more, and trying to get on the end of crosses and things.”
The Crew, as mentioned before, have their own target striker, Kei Kamara. Kamara however hasn’t done much to impress this season, and seems to be having trouble fitting back in the fold in Columbus. That said, Kamara is a real threat with getting service from the likes of Higuain, who is a master at pulling the strings in the attacking third.
The Red Bulls back four will have all they can handle, and while they were very solid against and depleted D.C. attack, expect a real test to come from Columbus this week, especially with yet another defender in the fold.
Featured Photo: Bill Twomey/Bill Twomey Photography
