Coming off their first winning game and their first road victory of the season, there is a confidence in the New York Red Bulls locker room that hasn't been seen all year. And despite all their woes, there is also the knowledge that a third consecutive win Saturday at Giants Stadium against the Kansas City Wizards could bring the Red Bulls to within a point of second place in the Eastern Conference.
That confidence started last Friday in a 1-0 win against the Colorado Rapids and continued in Columbus on Wednesday, when the Red Bulls beat the Crew 2-0.
Amado Guevara looks more like the player who is one of the most dangerous playmakers in the league, the back four of Seth Stammler, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke and Marvell Wynne have been solid in front of backup goalkeeper Jon Conway, who recorded the organization's first back-to-back regular season clean sheets since 2003. The bench has come up huge in key spots, from Conway to Joe Vide to Jerrod Laventure, who iced the win Wednesday with a sublime chip from 30 yards out.
"Those guys have all done very well in coming in and we need that out of our reserves," Red Bulls interim coach Richie Williams said. "We're confident in their abilities and that they'll come in and do a good job for us."
Things aren't perfect -- the combination of Jean Philippe Peguero and Edson Buddle have struggled to play off of each other, the Youri Djorkaeff situation still lingers (he remains in France and is expected to return early next week, according to a source close to the team) and the play from the flanks is inconsistent. But the Red Bulls are confident and confidence goes a long way.
But there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness and considering the Red Bulls aren't far removed from a five-game winless streak and the Eastern Conference cellar, they are certainly not taking the Wizards for granted.
"We're not in any type of position to overlook anyone," Mendes said. "Even if you're a first place team in this league, I don't think you can overlook any team. We've only got two wins in a row right now so we have a lot of work left to do and we have to keep it going. We're not overlooking anybody, for sure."
That's because they know exactly what Kansas City is going through. Riding a six-game losing streak, the Wizards let go of the longest-tenured MLS coach in Bob Gansler and replaced him with assistant Brian Bliss on an interim basis. In fact, Saturday's game between Bliss and Williams is the first time two interim coaches meet since Greg Andrulis of Columbus faced Perry Van Der Beck of the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Sept. 9, 2001.
"I'd say this is the most dangerous team to meet because you don't know what to expect," Danny O'Rourke said. "They have something to prove now and have a new, fresh beginning and I think it's going to be dangerous."
Of particular concern to Williams is the Wizards forward combination of U.S. internationals Eddie Johnson and Josh Wolff, even though Kansas City has scored just two goals in their last four games - both coming in a 3-2 loss to Houston last Saturday.
"You have two national team players up there, both have pretty good pace, both have proven they can score goals," Williams said. "We're going to have to concentrate, our back four and our holding midfielder Danny O'Rourke, on slowing those guys down and making it really hard on them."
But while the Red Bulls have confidence, the Wizards are on shaky ground and a quick start and an early goal by the Red Bulls could send K.C. reeling.
"If we get ahead, maybe it will shake them a little bit. Maybe their confidence will go down a bit and it will help us to win the game," Williams said. "We definitely have to get out to a good start, and that's something we've been talking about the last couple of weeks."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
