Red Bull is coming off a massive high, defeating San Jose on matchday one. The opening day victory proved that the results from the preseason might have just been some “bumps in the road” for NY.
Gerhard Struber’s men in their more familiar 3-4-2-1 formation from last season came out on top, 3-1 victors with goals from Patryk Klimala (45’), Omir Fernandez (72’) & even Tom Barlow (92’) to wrap up their almost monthlong trip to California.
But it was not all peaches for Red Bull as they conceded the equalizer to the Quakes in the 69’ minute, but NY righted almost instantly.
“I think we spoke earlier in the week about being on the road and having tough moments”, said newly named team captain Aaron Long while talking to the media Thursday.
“After they scored that goal there was a tough movement, we couldn’t really get pressure on the ball, and I think the way the guys stuck together and the way everyone just worked their ass off in those moments proved to the team that we were here for the fight here to stay.”
Red Bull responded just three minutes later in the 72’, securing the win from there on out, and left PayPal park with three points in the bag.
Other than the three points, one of the biggest stories was two academy products making their debuts and Struber gave some big praise to those two youngsters this week.
On his confidence to put Serge Ngoma (16 Y/O) & Daniel Edelman (18 Y/O) in a 2-1 game while making their debuts, Struber said, “It’s not a big question of the age but more a question of the quality. Their quality in training and the preseason showed me, “why not?”, they are ready.”
With San Jose wrapped up and now in the past, Red Bull is set to travel up north to Canada to face Toronto FC in front of a full house at BMO Field Saturday afternoon for MD2.
Dru Yearwood was asked about the challenge of playing a somewhat “new look” Toronto team. “Toronto over the years have been high possession-based, and with Bob Bradley, it will be more of the same. We like when teams play with possession, so hopefully, they play right into our hands, and we come away with a result”
For Red Bull, as Yearwood said, expect much of the same from MD1. NY will gladly sit back and give Toronto possession and wait until Toronto turns the ball over in midfield like they did against Dallas in their opening game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jchEvG1l0l4
Dallas had multiple chances to punish Toronto on the counter but just couldn't bury their chances to get the three points.
As for the projected lineup for Red Bull, here it is.
Tom Edwards is also not listed on the injury report for the game (see below), but it is unknown if he will be in the starting XI. When asked about Edwards’s availability Struber gave a little smirk and an “idk” type movement of his head.
He did go on to say, "He looks (Edwards) very good. He knows exactly what I want. But we have to be careful with game time and the load we give him, but he looks good."
Players to watch for Red Bull this weekend should be Frankie Amaya & Caden Clark, who will most likely slot into the XI as Cristian Casseres Jr is out this week with a hip flexor.
Amaya played a stellar game in San Jose being involved all over the pitch including the final two goals for Red Bull. Struber will need Amaya to keep this form up as, as they look for Sean Davis’s predecessor next to Yearwood.
For Clark, this will be a really big opportunity to take by the throat with CCJR out and show the manager that he belongs in the starting XI when everyone is healthy.
On the other side, thanks to some information from @CratesOfFrates on Twitter (give him a follow for TFC & CMNT news), this is how Toronto should lineup.
Toronto had a BIG offseason, signing Italy skipper Insigne on a free transfer this winter while also being rumored with other big names out of Italian soccer like Andrea Belotti from Torino FC.
But for the time being, Insigne will not join up with the Canadian giants until the Italian season ends May 22nd.
The biggest concerns for Red Bulls to watch out for are going to be Alejandro Pozuelo and Marshall-Rutty. Rutty, a RW by trade, has moved to RB out of necessity and is being compared to Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool.
Though not as defensively sound as an RB should be, he can hurt off the dribble and with his pace on & off the ball, even at just age 17. On the other hand, you have the 30 Y/O Pozuelo, 2020 MVP, who is a wizard on the ball. He can either play that final to finish a play-off or hit one with either foot from 25+ yards out to beat you himself.
All in all, this will be another fun game to watch. We should expect almost a mirror image of how San Jose played. NY will sit back and force Toronto to make a play and will be set to pounce on any mistakes the Canadiens make.
The prediction for the game, final score 2-1 Red Bull win. Amaya, Yearwood, Clark & Fernandez will create havoc in the midfield for Toronto, capitalizing on forced mistakes as they did in San Jose, and it will be enough to walk out of BMO Field with either three points or a draw. #NYisRED
Injury Report:
Game Information:
Where: BMO Field; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
When: Saturday, March 5th; Coverage @ 1:30 PM EST with the Red Bulls Pregame show and Kick-Off set for 2:00 PM EST
How To Watch: MSG (TV), MSG GO (Streaming)
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