November 3, 2015; Washington D.C.- Dax McCarty celebrates with Felipe after putting a dagger in the hearts of D.C. United in the MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals Photo Credit: Jennifer Jordan-Harrell Photography
After an emotional win against Houston, the New York Red Bulls will travel to Foxborough to face the New England Revolution this Friday. The Revs are still looking for their first win of the season, while New York, after dropping their first two games of the season, will be hoping to continue on the winning path despite missing three key starters due to injury.
The Red Bulls’ second half play against Houston may have been the spark the team needed to get their season back on track, but following the final whistle Jesse Marsch found himself in another worrisome situation after seeing three of his key starters leave the game with hamstring injuries.
Gonzalo Veron whose start was highly anticipated following his scorching preseason, re-injured the hamstring that kept him out of New York’s first two games. The starting center back pairing of Ronald Zubar and Gideon Baah also left the game with hamstring injuries.
With Zubar, and Baah sidelined for an unknown period of time, and with Perinnelle entering the final recuperation stages following his knee surgery, Jesse Marsch only has two natural center backs at his disposal in Karl Ouimette and rookie Zach Carroll.
Kemar Lawrence who finished the Houston game at center back, is a viable option for center back, unfortunately because of international duty with the Reggae Boys, Lawrence had very limited time to work on his routines with Karl Ouimette during the past 10 days, as it stands the starting center back pairing remains up in the air for Marsch.
The bye week may have been beneficial for the Red Bulls to continue working on improving their game, but by the same token, the additional time off may affect the momentum built with the win against Houston. Last season the Red Bulls struggled coming off bye weeks, it will be interesting to see how the team responds against New England in a game where the desire to win will be certainly tip the scales.
It will be up to the veteran players on this New York team to rally the team and overcome adversity. Felipe who was voted player of the week two weeks ago, following his 2 goal performance against Houston, is an example of the perseverance the team must have as a whole if they are going to come out of Gillette Stadium with a favorable result.
Lloyd Sam who started last season in great form, is far from that level this early on in the season, the same can be said about Bradley Wright-Phillips, who has yet to find the back of the net in New York’s first three games.
Gillette Stadium has never been a favorable ground for the Red Bulls, and with the home team hungry for their first win of the season, it’s not going to be an easy game for the Red Bulls who have found out teams are preparing for their high pressure, fast pace style. With teams closing up, and looking to hit the Red Bulls on the counter, the away factor may play in favor of the Red Bulls as home teams are less likely to play a less defensive game in front of their home crowd.
Following the game against New England, the Red Bulls will host Sporting Kansas City before heading out on a short West coast trip where they will play the San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado Rapids. The six game month of April will finish with visits from Orlando City SC and FC Dallas to Red Bull Arena. A heavy month of games for the Red Bulls who are hoping to not only get some players back from injury during this time, but also finish the month of April with a positive balance.
