NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC
Red Bull Arena | Harrison, New Jersey
3.24.18 | MLS Week #4 | MLS Game #4
6:00 p.m. CT (FOX Sports GO, MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN)
2018 Records:
MIN: 2-1-0; 0-1-0 on the road
RBNY: 1-1-0; 1-0-0 at home
With back-to-back wins and its first-ever winning record in MLS, Minnesota United heads east this week to visit New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls have been on a tear through CONCACAF Champions League, knocking off Liga MX’s Club Tijuana in the quarterfinals 5-1 on aggregate, but the club struggled to shake off the effects of that midweek match with a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake last week. MNUFC will get no such advantage as they’ll face a rested Red Bulls squad in a match that kicks off on Saturday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m. CT, with pre-match coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. on FOX Sports GO and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN.
Last season, the strides MNUFC made during the season were often undercut when the squad’s depth was tested, either by injuries or international call-ups. The improved cohesion they’ve shown on the pitch so far this season will be put to the test this week as defenders Francisco Calvo and Michael Boxall head off for international friendlies with Costa Rica and New Zealand, respectively, and midfielder Rasmus Schuller joins up with Finland. Add in the possibility that defender Tyrone Mears — who’s provided stiff defense down the right side and also been the go-to set piece taker for the team — could be unavailable after picking up a knock, and there’ll be a lot of Loons like Brent Kallman, Marc Burch, Collen Warner and rookies Carter Manley and Wyatt Omsberg looking to get into the 18.
“We could be out virtually half the team for the weekend,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “So it’s never ideal, but I always talk about it: One door closes, another door opens for somebody else. You know, we’ve got a lot of faith in the draft picks that we have, and that’s why whether it’s Carter [Manley], Brent Kallman — training really hard, waiting for his opportunity — they’re going to get an opportunity.”
One of the team’s rookies — seventh overall pick in this year’s MLS SuperDraft Mason Toye — has already gotten a few opportunities due to injuries to forwards Abu Danladi and Christian Ramirez. In Minnesota United’s recent wins, Toye has come on late, providing a crucial assist in the win over Orlando. Against the Chicago Fire in the team’s home opener, Toye was blown away by the fans.
“I think 7,000, in college,” he said when asked about the biggest crowd he’d played in front of before last Saturday’s in front of 23,138. “And that seemed like it was huge. But that was nothing compared to TCF. I was just trying to stay focused and carry out the win. Especially when I was warming up, every corner kick, when everybody was just waving their scarves, that was pretty cool. It was pretty intense. I loved it.”
Last season, the Loons had to wait until their fifth match for their first win, their 25th match for their first road win and their 29th match for their first back-to-back wins. This year, they’ve gotten all three of those things before their fourth match of the year. Heath has been professing his belief in the team’s improvement since the preseason, but he knows the players need to see results and he also knows there are challenges still to come.
“Having been in this a long time, there’s nothing like winning games to instill a bit of confidence into people,” he said. “Around the club — not just the players. Everybody feels it, the benefit of it. So it’s been a good start, but as I said to the guys this morning: That’s what it’s been, it’s been a start. We’ve got an awful long way to go, lots of games to play. But we’ve done well this season. Even the game away on the opening day, that we lost, I felt there was a lot of positives.”
The wins have helped nurture a growing confidence, and the cohesion established with a returning core has made it easier for new players like Toye and others to feel like they’re joining something, not building it from scratch with strangers. It’s afforded Heath the ability to drill down into specifics with players, as evidenced by targeted work with the forwards this past week that was heavy on technique.
“He just tries to tell us specific things that he wants us to do. Obviously me and Abu [Danladi], we’re pretty young guys — me especially, I’m pretty young,” said the 19-year-old Toye. “So it takes me a little while to really latch on to what he’s saying, and incorporate it into the training sessions. But the things that he’s been telling me from the beginning, now I’m starting to get it and they’re starting to work.”
“Starting to work” is as succinct a summary as you could put together for MNUFC right now. Heath talks often of adding more pieces, and although losing midfielder Kevin Molino to a torn left ACL has cast a shadow over the early going, many things have broken the Loons' way as well. They won’t always break their way, but the early success has given the team a little room to grow and invigorated them as well.
“The training this morning was probably as sharp as it’s been since I’ve been here,” said Heath on Tuesday. “That’s down to an accumulation of things. Results, confidence, competition for places. And people, actually, are settled now. They want to be here, they now want to stay in the team.”
INJURY REPORT
Minnesota United
OUT:
M – Sam Cronin (cervicogenic dysfunction)
M – Kevin Molino (torn left ACL – out for season)
QUESTIONABLE:
D – Tyrone Mears (right calf pull)
D – Jerome Thiesson (left hip)
F – Abu Danladi (left hamstring strain)
M – Maximiano (fitness)
New York Red Bulls
-none-
DISCIPLINARY REPORT
-none-
FIRST TOUCHES
- Manny Lagos played for New York during the MetroStars era in 1996 and 1997.
- Lagos, Jesse Marsch and Chris Armas played together on Chicago Fire in 1998 and 1999. Marsch and Armas were joined by Amos Magee in 2001 and 2002.
- Luis Robles and Collen Warner played for the University of Portland in 2006.
- Sean Davis and Carter Manley both attended Duke University. Davis played for the Blue Devils from 2011 through 2014 and Manley was on the squad from 2014 through 2017.
- Bradley Wright-Phillips and Tyrone Mears came through the Manchester City academy system. Mears played for the senior squad in the 2001-02 season, while Wright-Phillips was in the youth ranks.
- MNUFC has scored two goals in each of its three matches this season.
- This will be Minnesota’s third-consecutive match against an Eastern Conference opponent.
- Three MNUFC players — Michael Boxall (New Zealand), Francisco Calvo (Costa Rica) and Rasmus Schuller (Finland) — will be unavailable this week after getting call-ups with their respective national teams. Calvo and the Costa Rica national team are preparing for the 2018 World Cup in Russia with friendlies against Scotland and Tunisia.
- The Red Bulls will be without Tyler Adams (USA), Kemar Lawrence (Jamaica), Fidel Escobar and Michael Amir Murillo (Panama) due to international duty.
- Sam Nicholson was on the bench of the MLS Team of the Week for Week 3 following his performance against Chicago Fire. It was Nicholson’s first appearance in the Team of the Week.
- Ibson scored his first goal in MLS in the 2-1 win against Chicago Fire.
- Ibson led all MNUFC players with 49 passes in the opponent’s half vs. Chicago Fire.
- Miguel Ibarra (2A) and Ethan Finlay (2G, 1A) are on two-match point streaks.
- Three of Minnesota’s six goals have come in the 79th minute or later in the team’s first three matches.
- The Loons have four match-winning assists, tied for the most in the league. The assists are split between Finlay, Mason Toye and Ibarra (2).
- Ibarra is one of three players with multiple match-winning assists on the year.
- Matt Lampson’s 12 saves have him tied for the second-most in MLS.
- The Red Bulls have only allowed one goal in MLS this year. It was the lone goal in a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake.
- The Red Bulls have advanced to the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals after defeating Club Tijuana of Liga MX 5-1 on aggregate. They will face Chivas, with the first leg on April 4.
