Photo by Joscarfas
Friday night sees the New York Red Bulls take on the New England Revolution. The Red Bulls went winless for the month of May going 0-2-4 and added another draw to begin June. That leaves them seven games without a win. There’s no better example then last week’s game where they gave up a 90th+ minute goal to Columbus to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
However, the Red Bulls are not the only slumping team in this fixture. The Revolution have lost their last four games, three of them coming by way of a shutout. Even though the Red Bulls have several key players out, they still have a fantastic chance to take all three points.
Regardless of who’s on the pitch for the Red Bulls, they should be up for this game. This fixture is known as the I-95 rivalry and one that has led to many great battles between both teams. The three keys to the Red Bulls winning this game are simple:
- The link-up play between Thierry Henry and Luke Rodgers must continue. In MLS, there may not be a hotter pair of strikers in the league. Henry has 6 goals with three assists and Rodgers has added 5 goals as well as three assists.
- No Penalty Kicks. The Red Bulls have allowed three penalties in the last four games. These goals have been the main reason for the Red Bulls failure to gain all three points lately. If they can avoid these mistakes at the back, they should have a good chance of winning.
- Play hard until the whistle. This should really be a no-brainer, but the Red Bulls failed to do this last Saturday against the Crew giving up a goal in the 92nd minute scored by Rich Balchan.
The Red Bulls do not want to fall further off the pace of the Union at the top of the East standings and by following these keys, even with a weakened side, they should be able to gain all three points.
