Red Bulls look to narrow gap with United in Atlantic Cup derby

Photo: Jennifer Harrell

A derby match is only as good as the stakes that are behind it. Pride is certainly one thing but trophies and glory are another altogether. While the I-95 derby will certainly be contested on Sunday night when the New York Red Bulls host D.C. United at Red Bull Arena (7pm EST Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports Deportes) there will be more than just bragging rights on the line.

Entering Sunday night’s match D.C. (13-9-5, 44 points) has just a slender five point lead over the Red Bulls (11-7-6, 39 points) for first place in the Eastern Conference. A victory for Red Bulls in their final match against their hated rivals during the regular season would ultimately give them a very large leg up as the season winds down.

United, despite losing their last two matches, still stand in good position to claim both first place in the MLS Eastern Conference and the Supporter’s Shield. With the Los Angeles Galaxy (46 points) having lost to San Jose on Friday and the Vancouver Whitecaps (45 points) playing later tonight D.C. could in theory lead the league in points at the end of the weekend. All they need is a result against perhaps one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer. The Red Bulls have won seven of their last ten matches (7-2-1, 22 points) and have lost just twice at home this season (7-2-2. 23 points).

It would also secure them the Atlantic Cup, which is the award given to the club with the better head-to-head record each year. New York currently has the advantage after having won their first match in March against D.C. with a 2-0 victory. D.C. very nearly evened the season series in April with two goals from defensive-midfielder Perry Kitchen. But a Damien Perrinelle shot in the 68th minute and a later squeaker by Red Bulls midfielder Loyd Sam forced United to accept a 2-2 draw at home.

What is interesting about that match is that it was an unconventional result for D.C. The club’s m.o. this season has been conceding goals early (8 goals allowed in the first fifteen minutes in 2015) and finding ways to win late. While the club showed early on that it can come back from these kinds of deficits, their run of luck appears to have run out. In last week’s 2-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, the United defense looked shell-shocked at the barrage of attacking options that coach Dominic Kinnear threw at them. Chris Wondolowski provided the game-winning goal early on, but it was the poise conviction that forward Quincy Amarikwa ran with that changed the outcome of the match.

United should expect no respite from this approach. The Red Bulls have scored seven of their forty goals this season (tied for second-best in MLS) in the first fifteen minutes. In the first half hour they have scored twelve goals. What makes their attack so potent, and thus a major problem for D.C. on Sunday, is that it comes from a variety of sources. Sam (one goal,) midfielders Sacha Kjlestan (three,) Mike Grella (one,) Anatole Abong (one,) and forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (five) have provided the early in the first half hour that has helped push the Red Bulls past their early internal strife and to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

For United to escape away with at least a point in this match they will need their back four to remain composed early on. Teams that have scored early against D.C. have used a combination of speed and strength to overwhelm and overpower the D.C. defense. Look for the Red Bulls to do the same thing with Sam and Dax McCarty providing service into Wright-Phillips. D.C. United center-backs Bobby Boswell and Steve Birnbaum will be tasked with keeping the Englishman away from goal.

Wright-Phillips brought the game to 2-0 in the 52nd minute after connections from Lloyd Sam and Sacha Kljestan.

If United can withstand the early pressure they will have their opportunities against New York. Once out of the first fifteen, the club has shown an ability to work out of the back and slowly, patiently build up offensive opportunities. The Red Bulls greatest weakness is on the counter-attack, which should suit left-back Taylor Kemp (one goal, five assists) just fine. In Olsen’s 4-4-2 Kemp has been a difference-maker this season changing the field of play and often providing service into midfielder Nick De Leon (two goals, four assists), whose diagonal runs have posed problems for defenders this season. Look for forwards Chris Rolfe (nine goals, four assists) and Alvaro Saborio (two goals) to try and reap the benefits of Kemp and De Leon’s efforts on Sunday.

The Red Bulls defense has hit a bit of an injury wall with the club losing starting left-back Chris Duvall (broken tibia) for the season. Without their ace left-back, Red Bulls coach Jessie Marsch has used a by-committee approach to the position which has not really paid off. The good news for the club is that it is expected that center-back Kemar Lawrence (hamstring) will return for Sunday’s match. Center-back Ronald Zubar also returned from injury in the club’s 3-2 loss on Wednesday night, although given the quick turn-around it is unknown how much he will figure in Marsch’s plans against D.C.

With United’s troubles early on and New York’s current form, this match has all of the makings of a six point swing and a landmark moment in this 2015 season. But derby matches have a funny way of changing the dynamics of a campaign as previous maladies seem to either be erased or worsened. For a 2015 season that has seen offense emphasized in derby matches, it may end up be defending that proves the difference-maker in this match.