It was a year that some did not expect much, or anything at all, from the 2013 New York Red Bulls who are led by rookie Head Coach Mike Petke. A lot of the big time television pundits had Petke gone midseason, especially after NY’s shaky start to the campaign. No one saw them as legitimate Supporter’s Shield contenders, but with that piece of hardware now in the confines of Red Bull Arena, NY and Petke turn their attention to MLS Cup.
New York’s toughest test of the post season comes in the Eastern Conference Semifinals on the road against the Houston Dynamo. Sure the Dynamo played a mid week game and are the four seed, but that did not stop them last year form reaching a second consecutive MLS Cup, that time as the five seed. How is it NY’s toughest post-season test after they have beaten the Dynamo in Houston by an aggregate of 7 to 1 this season, and blanked Houston 3-0 in 2008? Well this is still a Dominic Kinnear team, who has their star striker, once again, getting hot to start the playoffs. Sure Dom Kinnear is suspended for this match but the Dynamo are a veteran enough team when it comes to MLS Cup playoffs that one has to wonder how much of an influence during the game Kinnear can be.
In the previous two games at BBVA Compass Stadium, NY struck early in both matches. First Eric Alexander took the Dynamo by surprise in 14 minutes back in September and then Tim Cahill scored the fastest goal in MLs history to put Houston on their heels. Going down early in a match has a huge tactical advantage when you are on the road. It takes all the pressure off of your team and puts it on the shoulders of the home team. It is how that team handles the pressure that will help determine the outcome of that match. After Cahill’s goal, NY kept pressing, fouling, and creating chances that led to the Dynamo never feeling connected. Yes Houston had some great looks on goal and Robles made two big saves, but they had 20 attempts in that match with zero goals for. The Red Bulls had three goals on four shots on frame. Now that can easily change as the Dynamo have “momentum” heading into today’s first leg in Houston. Will Bruin is finishing again, Oscar Boniek Garcia is looking alive again down their right wing, and Rico Clark is making Tim Cahill type runs late out of the midfield and into the box for many a dangerous chance. At BBVA, the Red Bulls will need to take these three players out of the game mentally to stand a chance of heading back home for the second leg with a positive result in their favor.
Heading home for the second leg may be in the back of the fans minds but some of the players have to be thinking about the past few seasons and the playoffs at Red Bull Arena. During the regular season, Red Bull Arena has become a fortress New York has again and again defended well. However come the conference semi-finals home leg in the playoffs, and the Red Bulls have lost all three matches to the Earthquake, LA Galaxy, and DC United. Unfortunately for NY, their home leg is in the middle of the week and not on the weekend due to MLS not playing games during the international break.
With no away goals in MLS playoffs, NY need to come home with a positive result. The 12th man may become a factor the later the game goes, especially if we see extra time or the cruel mistress if penalty kicks. It will all come down to Mike Petke keeping his team on track for the goal of hosting MLS Cup in Red Bull Arena.
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