New York Red Bulls (1-2-0) look to pick up three more points at home as expansion side Montreal Impact (0-2-1) head to Red Bull Arena. New York enjoyed the home cooking in front of the Metro faithful against an undefeated and weakened Colorado Rapids this past Sunday. Montreal comes off a 10-man loss at Columbus, 2-0.
New York looks to maybe finally have found its offensive groove, scoring four goals on the Rapids. While not 100%, Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper look to be finally getting on the same page. Henry fed a beautiful through ball to Cooper in the 6th minute for New York’s first goal. Rafa Marquez returned and settled the midfield. Dax McCarty benefited the most from the Mexican captain’s return, having one of his better performances in a RBNY kit. Defender Wilman Conde returned to the pitch after 11 months out with an injury and anchored the backline to a physical win. Rookie keeper Ryan Meara put in a man of the match performance in net in front of more than 400+ of his family and friends. Teemu Tainio and Marquez, who skipped some practices midweek various knocks, will be available for selection. If New York’s midfield can control the movement up the field and continually apply pressure when not possessing the ball, Montreal will be played out of Red Bull Arena.
Montreal has struggled offensively, scoring its lone goal off the head of veteran captain Davy Arnaud. The Impact does boast two forwards who each had hat tricks against New York in 2011. Justin Braun, formerly of Chivas, and Sanna Nyassi, formerly of Colorado, has been seeing plenty of field time. Italian DP Matteo Ferrari anchors Montreal’s back line and in three games they have only given up a total of five goals. There’s also someone in net for Montreal that anyone in the league knows. Donovan Ricketts mans the posts and is only one season from being named Goalkeeper of the Year. While they are still looking to gel, they post dangers all over the field.
While New York was able to push around a weakened Colorado, they still made mistakes in their defensive end. Montreal, an expansion side looking to make their name known, can exploit New York’s flaws. While the ball did not move back as much to Meara as it did in the first two games, Conde and Holgersson moved the ball back and forth between themselves to maintain too much possession. When pressure is applied, a quick counter can hurt the Red Bulls, as Conde and Holgersson are not known for their speed. The more physical play the back line institutes, the more free kicks in dangerous areas they are conceding. If Montreal wants to get ahead in this game, speed up the middle through Nyassi could do the trick.
I still think Montreal will struggle to find its feet during this game and New York will continue to dominate play, box to box. Look for Joel Lindpere to finally put in a performance that echoes his past seasons play. If New York can continue to mold Red Bull Arena into the fortress they want it to be, they can be one of the deadliest sides in MLS. Their schedule over the next month favors the Red Bulls with limited travel and struggling teams but New York is facing a team searching for its first MLS win. If New York keeps its head on straight, they win this 3-0.
Red Bulls News and Notes
- Friday is the day the tank stopped rolling in Harrison, NJ. US Homeland Security denied Red Bulls striker Luke Rodgers P1 Work Visa. The club and player agreed to terminate his contract mutually. New York is not giving up on bringing Rodgers back to the US to play but have to now focus on finding Rodgers replacement. Erik Soler and Hans Backe want a player with pace who can stretch the backline. Without Rodgers, New York gains back an international slot and about $200k in cap space. Rodgers signed with Norwegian Premiership team Lillestrøm SK until the end of the season.
(image courtesy of newyorkredbulls.com)
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