HANOVER, N.J. – As they travel west to take on the Seattle Sounders on Sunday night (5 pm ESPN2), the New York Red Bulls will be desperately seeking to make a return to the win column for just their second time in seven games. But the road to three points will certainly prove to be a challenging one.
Mired in a bit of a lull, New York will have their work cut out for them at CenturyLink Field where there will be a bevy of factors working against them. After failing to score in their last two matches, the Red Bulls will need to best a Seattle defense that has conceded a league-low nine goals with just three coming at home.
And while the Red Bulls are trending downward, the red-hot Sounders are on a tear. Winners of five of their last seven, Seattle’s offense has been just as prolific as their defense has been stingy. The current leaders in the Supporters’ Shield race lead the league in wins, points per game and goal difference, and have showed no signs of slowing down.
Add in a traditionally hostile environment and field turf and it would appear the Red Bulls have a mountain to climb. But for all of the narratives that seem to dictate otherwise, head coach Jesse Marsch has no plans to lie down.
“We’re going to go after the game,” Marsch said. “We’re going to try to play a fast game, but also be very aware of what their strengths are and address them tactically. Those things are coach-speak and they’re easier said than done, so it’s important for our players to understand what that means and to execute.
“We have confidence that we can go in there, play our style and be very aware of their strengths and take care of the game the right way.”
Of those strengths, their biggest arguably comes in the form of their DP duo leading the lines. Currently the league’s best one-two punch, Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins have continued to wreak havoc on MLS defenses, combining to score 13 of Seattle’s 18 goals this season.
So how does New York plan to stop them on Sunday?
“That’s a good question,” Marsch said with a smile. “[We need to be] aware of them, try to close down their time and space, understand that they love to play with each other and off of each other, and make sure they’re not on the run too much because that’s when they can really punish you.
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“It’s fun to watch a lot of times, but it won’t be fun on Sunday.”
Marsch’s message has clearly resonated within in his squad, as his players seem to wholeheartedly respect the challenge that this Sounders team presents, yet are not willing to change in the face of adversity.
“We don’t really change our style of play for anything,” defender Chris Duvall said. “We want to press, we want to play our style of ball and make them change the way that they play. I think imposing our style of play is the most important thing no matter where we go. The environment we’ll be in and the quality of team we’re playing will make it even more fun for us and even more challenging.”
