After mustering just five points through their first seven games, the Red Bulls have somewhat righted the listing ship with nine points in their last three. Now they head to Columbus tomorrow (4 p.m,. NBC Sports) in second place in the East, just two points ahead of the Crew – and only two behind first-place Montreal.
They haven’t lost to the Crew since their playoff ouster in 2010, including a 4-1 rout last year at Crew Stadium. But they’ll play without ironman Dax McCarty in their midfield, and captain Thierry Henry warned last year’s scoreline flattered the Red Bulls, and they can’t afford to overlook the Crew or overestimate themselves.
“We won last year there, but we played them at the right time….They had so many opportunities to come back into the game in the second half and they didn’t. With (Federico) Higuain, (Dominic) Oduro and all those guys, we know they have quality,’’ said Henry. “Having said that, it looks like we’re better on the road at the moment so hopefully we can give them a good game.
“But its going to be a difficult game. You know how hard it is to win there. But I think it’s the right time for us to go there. We won in DC, we won against Toronto, we had a couple good games at home if you take the KC game away. We’re not on a bad run. But…it’s very fragile. If you go to Columbus and get hammered, you start to ask yourself questions, so we have to go there and play a good game.’’
The Red Bulls are coming off their first consecutive victories of the season after last weekend’s 2-1 win in Toronto. But McCarty is out with a torn quad, one that will probably to cost him the Wednesday game against visiting Montreal as well.
The most likely central midfield pairing will be Tim Cahill and Juninho – the first time they’ve played together in a 4-4-2 – but coach Mike Petke hasn’t ruled out using Eric Alexander for his defense.
Either way, the Red Bulls will have to deal with Higuain and the speedy Oduro, who leads the Crew with four goals this year. Oduro is on a good run of for, with three goals in his last four games, and with Jairo Arrieta back in the lineup Oduro has gone back to the right flank with Eddie Gaven on the left.
As if Columbus’ pace didn’t pose enough problems – Petke admitting “if a guy’s faster than you, you just have to be smarter” – the Crew’s five set-piece goals are tied for most in MLS. It begs the question of whether Petke will stick with the centerback combination of Markus Holgerson and Jamison Olave, both regarded as better in the air than Heath Pearce.