Red Bull fell in heartbreaking fashion last week against Minnesota. But it was not their effort that let them down in the end but Minnesota’s keeper Dayne St. Clair who won all three points for the Loons.
Manager Gerhard Struber echoed his statements from last Sunday’s game in the pre-game presser.
“We’re looking forward with the power & confidence that we created a very good game . We just ran into a goalie on outstanding form. But the most important thing is that we create something in the opponent’s box and have good transition moments and everything I could see in this game”
See the full press conference at newyorkredbulls.com
Starting LB John Tolkin was also asked about the locker room’s mentality after Sunday’s game, and he was very much upbeat.
“The loss was disappointing, but we played well. Sometimes games happen like that. Overall, our performance was good we created a lot of chances”
In the end, though both player & coach said, “We forget Minnesota. We're ready for Sunday”
Now looking forward to Sunday, Red Bull is getting some much-needed reinforcements in the likes of Ashely Fletcher & Cristian Casseres Jr. are available for Sunday.
Casseres Jr. practiced all week and is ready to go, according to Struber.
Plus, according to the manager, ALL players who were called up for national team duty, Caden Clark, Daniel Edelman & Aaron Long, will also be AVAILABLE for Sunday before they leave for their respective camps on Monday.
Here’s how Red Bull could lineup on match day four.
Casseres Jr. seems like he could be slotting back into his right-sided 10 position, while Lewis Morgan could slide back into the RWB position and attack that right-hand side.
The Venezualian midfielder slots back into a team that has been creating loads of chances in each of the first three games, leading MLS in xGF with 7.5 and shots on goal with 24.
Through the first three games, the only real problem that has flared up for Red Bull has been their set-piece defending.
Red Bull have only conceded once in open play while the other two goals were scored via free kicks. Tolkin, unfortunately, will be blamed for both goals as he was the closest man to the scorers both times
Red Bulls set-piece marking has lacked a bit of focus to start the season
The first is not as bad based on the angle, but he does get beat covering the near post as Chofis flick headed one past Tolkin and Carlos Coronel who had no chance at a save.
But on the second set-piece goal, Minnesota swung a second ball back into the box and Tolkin lost his man for just a second as Luis Amarilla volleyed home the only goal of the game.
Yes, Red Bull have size with Sean Nealis & Long at CB, but the rest of the players on the pitch must not lack focus and be a bit more locked in on second & third balls that get thrown back into the box if they want to be as good defensively as they think they are.
On the other side of the coin, here’s how Columbus should lineup.
Columbus is the second-highest scoring team after three games with nine goals with their front-line featuring Lucas Zelarayán, Derrick Etienne Jr, Yaw Yeboah & Miguel Berry who all have been dangerous this season. In fact, Zelarayán leads MLS with four goals, one ahead of Morgan.
Asked how Red Bull expect to “stop” Zelarayán, Struber said, “with a togetherness”. And to be honest, there is no stopping the Armenian international; you can, at best, attempt to slow him down and make it as difficult as possible.
Tolkin during the pre-game presser said in reference to the upcoming matchup with Columbus’s offense, he had the same mindset as the manager.
“We have shown, if we're together on the defensive end, then we have the confidence to get the job done”
Dru Yearwood has been instrumental for Red Bull in the midfield this season, as he and Frankie Amaya have started in all three games in the center and have been called a “sexy pairing” by Struber.
Yearwood is now playing the confident football he has always wanted to play for New York when he first arrived stateside and he will be one of the key men to slowdown Zelarayán.
Talking about defending Columbus’s maestro in midfield, Yearwood compared him to a player that Red Bull has already faced this season.
https://twitter.com/pvtmcbain/status/1505070546119241728?s=20&t=sv5foicBunTxzIEo7tCE3A
See the all THREE parts of Yearwood's pre-game presser in this thread above
“Just like Pozuelo in Toronto, we need to disrupt Zelarayán and then just play our own game; play our press right, win the ball high up the field & finish our chances”
If Red Bull can hold Zelarayán to minimal chances from outside the box, defensively I do not see why they can’t have another successful day at the office.
At the end of the day, this game will come back to Red Bull, and if they can finish their chances on Sunday. They have created enough chances in each game to walk away with three points and they have done so in two of them so far.
Assuming that Red Bull can find their finishing boots that they wore on match days one & two, Red Bull should go on to beat Columbus. The final score at Red Bull Arena should be a 2-1 win for the boys in Red.
With Casseres back in the XI, expect he, Amaya & Yearwood to hound Columbus’s midfield of Zelarayán, Arthur & Darlington Nagbe and win a majority of the battles. But if the Columbus trio can weave in & out of Red Bull’s pressure it could get ugly at RBA. #NYisRED!
New York Red Bulls INJURY REPORT:
Game Information:
Where: Red Bull Arena; Harrison, New Jersey
When: Sunday, March 20th; 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)
