The New York Red Bulls (8-7-4) look to get back into the swing of things after having nine days off since their 4th of July defeat at the hand of the Colorado Rapids. In that defeat, the Red Bulls looked to be an exhausted team after 30 minutes in altitude. The Red Bulls came out flat in the second half and let the home side take advantage of their slow legs. While altitude and travel are no excuses for Petke, the Red Bulls return to the pitch at Red Bull Arena for some home cooking and what should be a good crowd. However, Petke and the organization really cannot blame altitue or travel for the way New York has played since they returned since their almost month long break in June. They now finally settle into a once a week game schedule and they should be able to handle the remainder of their travel easily.
Coming to town today are the Montreal Impact (9-4-4) leading the way in the Eastern Conference. This will be the third time this season the two sides have faced off against one another. In the first match, the Montreal Impact walked all over a Red Bull team that was lacking the services of Tim Cahill and Jamison Olave. With a second half ejection for Brandon Barklage, the Red Bulls were not able to find their way back into the game only a goal down. Fast forward to mid May when New York was on their winning streak. The Red Bulls hosted a Montreal team that did not see Marco Di Vaio start, to the surprise of few, as it was a midweek game. The Red Bulls took a first half lead through a Dax McCarty screamer. Then, Thierry Henry bicycled home the eventual game winner off a Juninho corner kick. Di Vaio came on late in the match and the Red Bulls struggled to keep the Italian in check as he brought one back for the Impact and nearly had an equalizer at the death.
Today’s match is crucial for the Red Bulls. Not only is this a match between conference rivals, but also NY still has games in hand over Montreal. The Impact may be coming off a tie to bottom feeders Chivas USA, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t a dangerous team. Besides the obvious danger of Di Vaio, Montreal has the likes of Hassoun Camara, Andres Romero, Collen Warner, Felipe Martins, Patrice Bernier, Sanna Nyassi, Justin Mapp, and Daniele Paponi who can all be a danger from the run of play or from a set piece. New York is moving on without the “service” of Juninho and Theirry Henry still needs to learn how to stay out of the defensive end of the midfield. Against Colorado, Henry didn’t let Dax McCary facilitate play as he can and it in turn slowed down the attack. If Henry had a lane, he would take it but eventually a Rapid would pick the ball off of him. Henry could only look up confused and angered no one was around to help him. If the Red Bulls are to avoid the same fate they had in Colorado, besides letting the midfield dictate play, NY needs to play with more energy and almost a high tempo. The fullbacks need to get into the attack, whether its Barklage, Kimura, or Lade, NY is playing at home and their ventures forward need to be positive. They need to play more forward balls into space that Alexander, Steele, or Sam can run on. While Luis Robles may have his fullbacks changing on a more routine basis, Jamison Olave and Markus Holgersson need to come out and have another strong showing in the middle. Dealing with Di Vaio will be hardest but they cannot ignore the play of Paponi, Mapp, or the speed of Nyassi.
For the Red Bulls to break their summer swing, they need to take this game early and put Montreal away. If they give up an early goal, they'll be chasing the game against a team that can hurt you on a quick counter. The schedule ahead for NY is not an easy one with away matches to Toronto, Sporting KC, and Columbus coming up.
