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Red Bulls will try to quickly right the ship against Montreal

New York Red Bulls, Professional, Soccer

October 29, 2021

The New York Red Bulls suffered their first slip as their unbeaten streak was snapped at eight games down in our Nations Capital with the one goal to nil loss. A Kevin Paredes goal in the ninth minute and the closed-down defense by DC United took away the positive vibes for this young side.

But there is a bit of a positive for the Red Bulls as their next two games will be at Red Bull Arena with the final match of the regular season will be on the road at Nashville SC who have already clinched a playoff spot by finishing second in the east. So there is still time for the Red Bulls to collect themselves and earn the necessary six points to clinch a spot and try to make a big splash on decision day at Music City.

But that means they must earn the full three points this weekend as they host Club de Foot Montreal at Red Bull Arena. The last time these two sides faced each other, the Red Bulls had a lead going into halftime with a Patryk Klimala penalty, then coughed up the last two goals to Montreal, but it was lost in controversial fashion due to the multiple times Montreal was given a chance to convert from the spot.

As we remember all penalty shouts from Montreal were reviewed by VAR. Amro Tarek was sliding down low and slid to block a cross, but the ball came a few seconds later and struck Tarek in the left arm inside the area. Even though Tarek never moved his arm towards the ball, it was considered a penalty.

Carlos Coronel made two spectacular saves in a row from the spot but had to retake them as he was forced off the goal line by the delayed stutter steps of Montreal players, until the third one where he guessed correctly and got his hands on the ball, unfortunately, deflected off his hands and into the top of the net for Montreal to earn the comeback victory.

The Red Bulls are currently one point behind DC United for the final playoff spot as there is a seven-point separation between themselves and five other clubs. Currently, Philadelphia is in third place with 50 points, NYCFC & Orlando City with 47, Atlanta United with 46 and DC with 44, so it's imperative for the Red Bulls to get wins in these final three games on their schedule.

Montreal is in their way right now as they are currently in ninth and even on points with them at 43. But there could be a bit of an advantage for the Red Bulls as their opponents just went through a lengthy penalty kick shootout defeating Hamilton Forge of the Canadian Premier League in the Canadian Championship 8-7 after going scoreless in regulation and extra time.

"Right now I'm telling my boys we will find a good focus. We will throw away the last result, it makes no one happy. We have to step forward with all of our concentration on the next game against a very good team and a dangerous team," said Gerhard Struber. "They have completely different weapons like what DC has. For us, we have to step quick with a different match plan and a different behavior with this game and if the game is open we have a big chance on Saturday."

With injuries to the Red Bulls, John Tolkin sounds like he will be ready to go, but Omir Fernandez who suffered the hamstring injury will be held out as it sounds like the target date for him to return will be the mid-week match at home against Atlanta United. IT will be good news to have both these players back on the squad getting ready for selection to the game data roster.

But there is no time for the Red Bulls to fall back any further after climbing out of the hole, they must find a way to advance themselves into a playoff spot again and never let go. So get to Red Bull arena this Saturday and cheer on the boys to propel them to victory.