When the Chicago Fire overwhelmed the Red Bulls, 3-2, Aug. 26, Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch was asked if the team should be a bit more defensive-minded down the stretch as desperate teams with nothing to lose attack more fervently.
Though the Red Bulls had been repeatedly burned by Chicago’s speed and counter attacking ability that night, Marsch insisted that his high-pressing offense just had an off day and that he wasn’t about to alter a system that had brought the club so much success this season.
And he was right.
But after Orlando City SC put on a counter attacking clinic in Friday’s 5-2 victory at Red Bull Arena – and gave the rest of the league a textbook example on how to thwart the Red Bulls’ high press – Marsch admitted some small changes needed to be made.
Monday’s training session, scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., started over an hour later as the Red Bulls spent extra time going over the film of the loss to Orlando City.
“Longer than I would have liked,” was how Marsch described the film session. “We just kind of (went over) little reminders about some tactics and about our mentality, but I actually think that there was a lot of good (in the game). In the first half we actually played quite well and we were a little unlucky not to get in (to the locker room) 2-2. We need to just revisit a couple of things defensively in terms of our tactics and making sure that we’re not getting stretched, but confident that we’ll be better from this butt whooping that we took.”
Marsch referred to any changes the club will make Saturday against the Columbus Crew at Red Bull Arena as ‘adjustments.’ He expects the players to bounce back for a game that will go a long way toward deciding the Eastern Conference champion and Supporters’ Shield winner.
“There’s more kind of how we shift and deal with things when there are breakdowns when the other team’s able to gain a little bit of an advantage, and how that the next guy is ready to be close enough to shift over and there aren’t big gaps in the team,” Marsch explained. “… There’s a combination of things. There’s a few different indicators that if a certain team is trying different kinds of plays to counteract what we’re doing, how we adjust, so that’s what I would say more than anything. It’s not changing anything. It’s just adjusting to what the other team’s giving us.
“Some of the lessons are important because they apply to playing against Columbus this weekend. Columbus last time we played them abandoned their way of playing and just played direct to Kai Kamara in the air and then tried to pick up second balls. So we have to be prepared for Columbus to show up and play like that, and also for them to maybe feel brave enough to play through us. We have variables that we deal with in ways that we adjust, so again, going over little reminders what those are.”
Defensive midfielder Felipe has full belief in the system that has the Red Bulls (14-9-6) one point ahead of the Crew (13-10-8) with two games in hand.
“We had to figure out how to be better on the goals that they scored last game,” Felipe said of the film session. “We made some mistakes and have to adjust. We talked overall what we need to do to be better and to fix for the next game against Columbus. We have to stick to our plan that made us successful and what made us get here, in the place we are right now. We just have to be a little bit better in certain things and Jessie spoke about how we need to be better. For sure, we’re going to come out stronger in the next game.
“We knew they were a good team, but if you looked again you’re going to see that they scored on counter attacks, us losing the ball and they countered us scoring the goals. If you can be better with the ball and press better, we’ll be successful.”
Marsch, who is suspended for the match Saturday after getting ejected in the second half of the Orlando City match, still doesn’t understand the reason.
“I’m assuming I’m suspended, but I didn’t know you could be suspended for waiving your arms,” said Marsch, who will likely appeal the ejection. “That was the explanation that was given. I thought (the referee) was rash in his decision. I don’t know. When I look around the league, even when I’m watching this (past) weekend, I see a lot more obnoxious bench behavior than my example.”
In the locker room after the loss to Orlando City, midfielder Dax McCarty insisted the team did not have to rethink its game plan. When the team is on its game, as it has been most of the season, the system works.
“We play the way that we play and it's been effective for us all season,” McCarty said. “I just think on the night our pressure wasn't quite right. I think that our front six didn't do a good enough job winning the ball up the field, and I don't think they were too dangerous from their possession, but then again, when they won the ball from us and they counter-attacked us, they just scored, it felt like every time they attacked, so that's something we need to sort out.”
Marsch believes the team needs to move forward and concentrate on the Crew. He knows that as the regular season hits its final month, nothing is set in stone.
“There’s lots of twists and turns left in the season and there’s been a lot of Supporters’ Shield talk,” he said. “What’s really important for us is to maintain the focus of a game-in, day-in, day-out, game-in, game-out mentality. That’s what’s gotten us to where we are and that’s what’s going to get us to where we want to be. It’s always easy to listen to certain things, it’s always easy to look at results, but in the end the only team that’s going to take care of the Red Bulls is the Red Bulls.”
