The grueling COVID regular season is over and the New York Red Bulls, who only faced their fellow Eastern Conference opponents, are ready for a possible playoff push. New York went unbeaten 11 times out of their final 12 games, which was astonishing for such a young and talented side who finally came together when it mattered the most.
After fighting through the injuries and the poor summer of dropping points late after taking leads, this Red Bulls side finally was able to take the reigns and made that march to qualify for the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs. That means for the second time within three seasons they will travel down I-95 to Subaru Park and take on the Philadelphia Union.
In three matches against the Union, the Red Bulls lost in their only visit to Chester while they drew twice at Red Bull Arena. scoring twice and allowing three, these sides have been mirror images of each other for the last couple of years the results have been very tight. Just a slight error can cause a mistake to be huge and cost a side points.
But now the mistakes can be bigger if it shows up in the playoffs in this one-and-done situation. This will be the real test for Head Coach Gerhard Struber as this will be his first true test of managing in the playoffs. As many of you remember Struber managed his only match last season in the playoffs at the eventual MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew at Historic Crew Stadium.
While that was a loss, Struber never managed the club during the regular season as that was held by assistant coach Bradley Carnell who earned the interim tag and dug the club out of a hole, to make the playoffs in 2020. But this will be a huge test for the Red Bulls as they know the dangers facing in front of them with this side built by Jim Curtin.
"It's a big rival, we have some interesting appearance within three months, we have three times to earn a win against Philly, but it didn't happen, but now we have one more chance to do that." said Struber, "Especially when it was a very close game down there and in the second half we had a lot of chances to equalize, but it didn't happen. We know this is a playoff game with a special mental moment for all the players.
"We are ready for this big moment and all my players are ready to fight and for the big moment. We have the confidence and the conviction right now to play at our level, as well as our process and our style of play. We have to use it in a big way to advance into the next round."
Red Bulls Have Playoff History With Union
Sean Davis remembers the last time these two sides met in the playoffs as he was a [part of that team that had a three goals to one lead at halftime, then slowly lost the lead and then lost the match in extra time to an Ilsinho wondergoal from a difficult angle along the end line. on the near side. But at the same time did this unbeaten run give experience to the young bulls as well.
"We've been in a playoff situation within the last two months so it's been a good experience for the guys. We played in tight games and we needed to secure every single point which was great to see and it's been helpful to the group," said Davis. "It's always a difficult game against Philly, you can talk about this season, you can talk about last season or the playoff game.
"That's why it's so important to be locked into every single moment because the stakes are high and you have to respect the moment. We are in a high-stakes area and we have to be ready to go for a moment like what's in front of us right now."
Let's see what this young Red Bulls side can do and let's see how quickly they can adapt to a higher level of play, as we have seen in the past, this team has had tons of veteran leadership to advance as deep as they could go, but now with the young guns dominating the roster, it could be a big surprise to see if they can do the job the right way.
- Red Bulls Reunite Nealis Brothers - December 16, 2021
- John Wolyniec steps down as Red Bulls 2 head coach - December 10, 2021
- Red Bulls transfered and signed Carlos Coronel to three-year deal - December 6, 2021
