Photo Credit New York Red Bulls
It has all come down to this. After 21 seasons D.C. United are finally ready to say goodbye (at least on matchday) to RFK Stadium. On Sunday United will play their final match at Robert F. Kennedy War Memorial Stadium against an old foe: The New York Red Bulls. The match will begin at 4pm EST and will be shown live on MLS Live.
While the match is part of Major League Soccer’s Decision Day there really isn’t all that much to decide aside from the match itself. The Red Bulls (13-12-8, 47 points) have already clinched a spot in the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs and are locked in to the number six seed. As for D.C. (9-19-5, 32 points) while supporters had some hope that their final season at RFK would end with an MLS Cup title that sadly will not happen. For the first time in four seasons they will not be attending MLS’ second season. A season of injuries and inconsistent form dashed those chances and forced management to start looking more towards 2018.
That being said, this will not be a snoozefest. First, these teams do not like each other. The D.C. United-New York Red Bulls (nee MetroStars) rivalry dates back 21 years to the league’s inaugural season. Fouls have been committed, cards have been issued, and energy drinks have been spit out. The two sides have played 89 times since 1996 and very rarely is it a boring match. As it stands United hold the edge 43-31 all time in terms of wins. But New York have held the advantage in the recent past with a 5-1-4 record in their last ten games against their bitter rivals.
Rest will be a big question for the Red Bulls and coach Jesse Marsch. With the club entrenched into the number six spot New York will have a midweek road match to start their 2017 playoff campaign. While Marsch may rest some of his starters (in particular those that featured for their national teams during the last FIFA international break) New York haven’t exactly been clicking on all cylinders. Over their last ten games the Red Bulls have posted a 1-3-6 record and dropping leads in four of those matches. Rest might sound like a great idea but for a New York side that has struggled to find consistency it might not be the best time for it.
Getting Bradley Wright-Phillips more involved would be a start. The 32 year-old forward has 17 goals on the season and is one of the major reasons for New York’s success this year. New York has a 9-4-2 record when Wright-Phillips is able to score at least once. However, when he is unable to hit the back of the net the Red Bulls attack has stalled to the tune of 4-8-2. With United center-back Steve Birnbaum out due to concussion issues and goalkeeper Bill Hamid unlikely to play due to him reportedly signing with Danish side FC Midtjylland (as reported by the Washington Post’s Steve Goff)Wright-Phillips will have more chances on goal on Sunday.
As for D.C. Sunday’s match is another opportunity for players to secure their jobs for 2018 and to lay claim to starting spots. United management have made no secret that this offseason will bring sweeping changes to the club. Of particular concern going forward will be United’s back four. After years of laying claim to one of the top defenses in the league D.C. have struggled to keep opponents out of their defensive third. With Birnbaum out look for coach Ben Olsen to go with Kofi Opare and Jalen Robinson as his center-backs along with Sean Franklin and Nick De Leon at right and left backs respectively.
Creating attacking chances will also be of concern to Olsen going into Sunday and into the offseason. D.C.’s 30 goals scored is the lowest in all of MLS and perhaps the biggest sign as to the club’s decline in 2017. Midfielder Luciano Acosta and forward Patrick Mullins have rekindled their partnership from last season in recent weeks pushing D.C. to a 4-4-1 record over the last nine games. But all cards are on the table with United and Sunday’s derby match may be their last chance to show what they can do together.
While there are certainly other matches in these two club’s history that had more at stake in terms of silverware, this still might be their most important match in recent memory. United really want to end their at RFK with a positive while New York would love nothing more than to spoil the party.
