HANOVER, N.J. – Confident and competitive New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke almost never utters the phrase, “We’ll play for a draw,” but given current circumstances, he just might have to.
The Red Bulls traveled Tuesday to Canada for a CONCACAF Champions League group game against the Montreal Impact on Wednesday (8 pm ET, FOX Sports 2) and did so with a mostly reserve-based roster due to a combination of injuries and fatigue. New York are coming off a week that saw them play three hard-fought games in eight days against Eastern Conference opposition, and the mental and physical toll those matches took on some of the starters has called for a rest ahead of another busy stretch.
The Impact, by contrast, opted to rest several regulars in their league match last weekend, a move that suggests they have essentially put all their eggs in one basket and are focusing on the Champions League.
The Red Bulls have the luxury of playing the group-stage finale against the Impact at home on Oct. 22, but they also face a road trip to El Salvador next week.
“Knowing that they come to us the last game, and if we win that game at home at the end and win our game [at Salvadoran side] FAS, tomorrow of course a draw would be okay,” said Petke on Tuesday. “Perhaps that’s what you play for in Champions League. It’d be nice to get a goal on the road as well. It’s very obvious they’re putting everything into this competition. We’re taking it very seriously, but we are in fourth place in the league, and we have six games left. We have a huge game against Seattle [on Saturday], coming off three straight games, so we have some guys that most of them we need to rest. Need to.”
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Petke had already planned to rotate his squad for this game, given that New York’s busy September schedule sees them play seven games in 23 days. But with Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill nursing minor ailments and the likes of Luis Robles and Dax McCarty in need of some downtime, Petke will turn to an almost entirely reserve-filled lineup for a game that could go a long way in determining who advances out of Group 3.
The match-ups might not look good on paper – especially considering that talented Impact veterans Marco Di Vaio and Ignacio Piatti were rested this weekend – but Petke still believes that reserves like Connor Lade and Ryan Meara will be able to grab a result.
“I’m confident that the team I put out there is going to do what it takes,” said Petke. “I know they’re going to work hard, I know they’re going to be working, and I know they’re going to do everything they can to get a result. We’ll be taking it seriously. But the way the league’s set up and the amount of games that we’ve had recently and the position we’re in in the league, this is why you go to give guys opportunities, and you get new guys and fresh legs on.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
