HANOVER, N.J. – Given former MLS Defender of the Year Jamison Olave’s return to Real Salt Lake and the retirement of veteran Ibrahim Sekagya, the New York Red Bulls were left with the unenviable task of constructing an entirely new central defense this winter. You wouldn't know it by watching them play in 2015, though.
Despite starting the season with question marks in front of ‘keeper Luis Robles, RBNY have conceded just nine times over their first nine games, the second-best mark in MLS.
The Red Bulls have been surprisingly stingy, especially since the man tapped to replace Olave – Ligue 1 and EPL vet Ronald Zubar – has been on the field a whopping 76 minutes thanks to an injury in the first game of the season.
That’s forced head coach Jesse Marsch to improvise in the midst of a rebuild. In Zubar’s place, fellow Frenchman
Damien Perrinelle
has stepped up to take command of the New York defense. Next to him has been US U-20 regular
Matt Miazga
. Between the two, it seemed they'd found their footing, but after Miazga’s red card against NYCFC on Sunday night, the Red Bulls defense were once again forced to adapt.
Enter Canadian international Karl Ouimette. The former Montreal Impact defender, under Marsch’s tutelage for the second time in his career, was thrust into the match out of necessity after seeing his team reduced to 10 men in the first half.
“It was surprising for sure,” Ouimette said. “It always takes a bit of time to adapt when you come on the field. For a defender, it’s not common that you get subbed in.”
On Friday, the Red Bulls will once again be without Miazga’s services as the 19-year-old serves his one-game suspension. It’s an absence they’ll have to get used to, as Tab Ramos has selected the Homegrown product to represent the US at the U-20 World Cup in New Zealand starting later this month.
“Our depth is going to be tested throughout the season,” said midfielder Dax McCarty. “Whoever comes in, it’s just next man up. We don’t want to make any excuses. We think that whoever comes in can do a good job.”
More tests surely lie ahead for New York, including Friday night at FC Dallas (9 pm ET; UDN | UnivisionDeportes.com), but they’ve already passed their fair share. Through injuries and international call-ups, the RBNY backline has been forced into rotation thus far. Yet each player on the New York roster has adopted the “next man up” mentality.
“It’s a combination of things,” Marsch said. “There’s clarity on the field in terms of what the roles are and what the expectation are when they step in. We also feel strongly that we have smart players and good players. We work on that every day to try and engage them in ways that they can continue to grow. The overall environment has been such that we believe in all the players we have here, we try to invest in them.”
“We have a philosophy and a way of playing,” McCarty added. “I think all the players that Jesse’s brought in and all the defenders so far have done a good job of realizing what their roles are. We don’t play in the system based on just the players, we play in this system to fulfill a role and I think everyone who comes into the team knows what the role of certain position is.”
As New York look to traverse a tricky spell without Miazga or Zubar, there is hardly any wiggle room to rest tired legs or cope with another injury in the center of the defense. For Friday night, Ouimette has already been tapped for the starting XI, but there is yet another option at Marsch’s disposal.
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“We think Roy [Miller] is definitely an option at [center back],” Marsch said. “… I think that moving forward we’ll continue to look at Roy. We know that he has flexibility in his game and that if we call on him, he’d be a very good guy to play in that spot. He provides a lot of [savvy] there, too. We just need a little bit more time to work on it, but we know that if we need to call on him, he’ll be ready.”
As the longest tenured player on the team, Miller has seen his minutes decrease drastically in 2015 due to injury and the subsequent play of his replacement at left back, Kemar Lawrence. Regardless, it's whatever means necessary no matter who gets on the field.
“Right now we’re talking about that,” Miller said of a possible move to center back. “I play there with the [Costa Rica] national team and I know that position well, but [it’s Jesse’s decision to make]. If he wants me there, I’m ready. We’ll see what he decides.”
