New York (7-3-1) makes its first trip north of the border to face surging expansion side Montreal Impact (3-5-3). Montreal, who is playing their last game on the terrible turf of the “Big O”, is still undefeated at home posting a 2-0-2 record there. New York is putting its four game win streak on the line against Montreal’s 4 game unbeaten streak.
The Red Bulls travel to Montreal a bit shorthanded as players who recently returned from injuries are once again injured. Jan Gunnar Solli picked up a thigh injury and will not be traveling with the team. Solli is not so much missed in the defense as his presence and play in the midfield. Solli missing from the midfield would not be such a big deal if two other midfielders weren’t missing. Rafa Marquez, who missed practice Thursday and Friday, is out with what head coach Hans Backe calls a “soft” achilles injury. Marquez, who had just returned from suspension and injury, played decent in New York’s win over Philly, getting the assist on Kenny Cooper’s game winning goal. Any injury coupled with the turf of Montreal’s stadium, makes sense Rafa would not play. I don’t think Henry would have even traveled with the team if he weren’t already out injured. Mehdi Ballouchy will also not be available for selection due to his lack of a green card. Ballouchy was visibly frustrated at practice when asked for an update on the situation. Ballouchy has shown well in playing the creative midfielder for New York. He always is able to seamlessly switch positions with Lindpere and Henry and has done some damage to opponents’ backlines.
New York traded away young Juan Agudelo on Thursday to strengthen their defense for Heath Pearce from Chivas USA. Agudelo grew up playing a win role but was transformed into a striker in his last few years. With Henry and Angulo injured, Jhonny Arteaga and Corey Hertzog are the only other strikers left on roster. It will be interesting to see how Hans Backe lines his team up. Honestly, I’ve been very impressed with the way he has adapted his formations to the players he has and that Backe has not just reverted always to his stagnant 4-4-2. The Backe of 2011 crept in when against Philly when he started Marquez over Dax in the defensive mid role but changed that in the second half. Pearce gives you options all along the backline though. With all the absences in the midfield I can only see a New York lineup looking something like: Meara; Barklage, Holgersson, Pearce, Miller; Dax; Richards, Palsson, Lindpere, Lade; Cooper. Yes, Backe could very well go back to a 4-1-4-1 but it comes down to how he decides to use Pearce. Sure, Backe could also have Ruthven start and Pearce play left fullback but where does that leave Roy Miller? At times against Philly when it seemed as if NY was only paying three in the back that Roy Miller pushed into the midfield. I don’t see Miller always making the necessary runs that a wing player would make. Either way, it will once again be interesting to see how Backe adapts tactically to the latest hurdles thrown his way.
The last game between Red Bulls and the Impact was early in the season. Jumping out to two early leads off of goals by Sanna Nyassi and Justin Mapp, New York struggled a bit defensively. A New York penalty converted by Kenny Cooper just before half swung momentum New York’s way, who scored three goals in the second half leading to Thierry Henry’s first MLS hat trick. Donovan Ricketts may have had his worse game in MLS and Montreal showed they did not, at the time, know how to close out games as their midfield looked gassed in the second half. However, New York has no Henry and Montreal have looked a dominant team at home being backstopped by huge performances from Donovan Ricketts.
This is not a game I see New York securing an early goal lead and hanging on for the win or draw. This game is going to play out much like the one against Philadelphia. Even with Pearce in the lineup, with only one practice, adjustments will need to be made. Montreal’s captain Davy Arnaud has two goals this season; both at home in big games. His second came last weekend against the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy as a forward. Nyassi always burns New York as of late in some fashion and while it seems Mapp may not play, Bernardo Corradi has been a handful for backlines this season. The only way to contain him will be to have Dax stick on his side, disrupting him at every stage of the game. If it is a center back pairing of Holgersson and Pearce, they will need to understand their coverage zones and man pickups very quickly.
If New York is going into this match remembering they bashed Montreal for five goals earlier in the season, they are wrong. This Impact side is much different and much better than earlier this season. Montreal played a high pressure on NY in Red Bull Arena and it surprised the Red Bulls. Now that they’re home, in front of 35-40 thousand fans, New York will be happy to escape with a draw. I see the game finishing 2-2.
(image courtesy of newyorkredbulls.com)
